LOS ANGELES, CA – Jose Luis Alonso, 28, a known member of the notorious Florencia 13 street gang, will spend the next 188 months – 15 years and 8 months – in federal prison after admitting to flooding the streets of Los Angeles with fentanyl and fueling gun violence. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, closes a case that exposed a dangerous network peddling poison and weaponry.
Alonso, also known as “AK-47” on the streets of Huntington Park, pleaded guilty in August 2023 to one count of distributing fentanyl. But the scope of his operation went far beyond that single charge. Court documents reveal Alonso confessed to distributing approximately 8,944 fentanyl pills, a staggering 855 grams of fentanyl powder, 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, and four kilograms of cocaine between May 2022 and October 2022. He wasn’t just moving drugs; he was arming criminals.
The ATF, Homeland Security Investigations, and the LAPD investigation uncovered that Alonso sold 36 firearms and a particularly alarming 16 machine gun conversion kits – devices that turn ordinary weapons into fully automatic killing machines – all without a license. This wasn’t a one-off deal; it was a sustained, illegal business conducted while Alonso was already on probation for a 2020 Kern County conviction for prison assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, and a 2016 Los Angeles robbery conviction. A clear pattern of disregard for the law and a penchant for escalating violence.
Alonso wasn’t operating alone. Jasmine Pereira, 26, of Los Angeles, received a 24-month federal prison sentence today for her role in the conspiracy to illegally sell firearms. Kevin Alonso, 27, also of Los Angeles, is scheduled to be sentenced on February 26, and Berenice Segura, 23, of Huntington Park, faces sentencing on April 8, both for their involvement in the illegal gun sales operation. The feds are clearly aiming to dismantle the entire network, not just the top dog.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Declan T. Conroy, of the General Crimes Section, spearheaded the prosecution, bringing the full weight of the Department of Justice down on Alonso and his crew. While 15 years is a significant sentence, it barely scratches the surface of the damage inflicted on the community by this brazen criminal enterprise. The streets of South Los Angeles are a little safer, but the fight against fentanyl and gun violence is far from over.
The case serves as a stark reminder of the deadly intersection of drug trafficking and illegal firearms. Alonso’s actions didn’t just endanger lives through the distribution of a potent opioid; they actively fueled the cycle of violence that plagues many urban areas. The ATF will continue to aggressively target those who profit from misery and put weapons in the hands of criminals, even as the agency struggles with budget cuts and staffing shortages.
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Key Facts
- Agency: ATF
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime|Weapons|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Press Release
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