Kevin Guatemala Zepeda, MS-13 Gang-Related Murder, California 2022

Two MS-13 gang members have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a gang-related murder and attempted cover-up in San Francisco, California.

Kevin Guatemala Zepeda, a/k/a ‘Mision,’ and Fernando Romero Bonilla, a/k/a ‘Black,’ were sentenced to 204 and 84 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in planning and covering up a MS-13 gang-related murder. The sentences were handed down by the Hon. Richard Seeborg, Chief U.S. District Judge.

Zepeda and Bonilla were two of 13 defendants named in a second superseding indictment filed on November 4, 2021. The indictment described a broad range of racketeering crimes committed by the transnational criminal organization MS-13. Among the crimes described in the indictment is the murder of a suspected gang rival in the parking lot of the Gray Whale Cove trail in Pacifica.

On September 13, 2022, Bonilla pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and a January 24, 2019, assault on a family in the Mission District of San Francisco that included a 15-year-old boy. Bonilla admitted that as part of the racketeering conspiracy, he attempted to cover up the murder at Gray Whale Cove by removing a piece of potentially incriminating evidence.

On October 4, 2022, Zepeda pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and his participation in the January 24, 2019, assault. Zepeda admitted to participating in the planning of the murder at Gray Whale Cove and providing the weapons that his associates used to commit the murder. He further admitted that he helped remove potentially incriminating evidence from the scene of the murder.

MS-13 operates in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, and at least 20 states in the United States. The MS-13 clique in San Francisco is the 20th Street clique. The second superseding indictment filed in this case describes how the 20th Street clique relies on crime to operate, including to avoid detection by law enforcement, to initiate new recruits, to enhance the reputation of the gang and individual gang members, to maintain control of drug distribution channels, and to intimidate people who might testify against or otherwise defy the gang.

Zepeda and Bonilla pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d), and assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(3) and 2.

In addition to the prison terms, Chief Judge Seeborg ordered a five-year term of supervised release for Zepeda and a three-year term of supervised release for Bonilla.

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