SANTA ANA, California – In a shocking turn of events, three Orange County street gang members have been found guilty by a federal jury of the August 2017 murder of a gangster who had fallen afoul of a member of the Mexican Mafia prison gang.
Mike Escobar, a.k.a. “Risky,” 40, a member of the Little Hood gang in Anaheim; James Mendez, a.k.a. “Buck,” 44, a Sureño gang member from Garden Grove; and Kevin Trejo, a.k.a. “Minor,” 36, a member of the Jeffrey Street gang in Anaheim, each were found guilty of one count of violent crime in aid of racketeering.
According to evidence presented at the eight-day trial, on August 21, 2017, the defendants murdered the victim, a member of a Costa Mesa street gang, in a residential neighborhood in Orange. The victim was shot seven times in the back and once in the head by the defendants, who were acting on orders from imprisoned Mexican Mafia member Johnny Martinez, a.k.a. “Crow,” 47, a co-defendant in this case who has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
The victim had been collecting “taxes” from gangs in Orange County for Martinez at the time of his murder. The defendants tricked the victim into driving with them just before midnight from his home in Anaheim to the location where he was killed. The jury found that Martinez issued the order to kill the victim because he had stolen drugs and money controlled by Martinez on two occasions.
United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney scheduled March 25, 2024, sentencing hearings for the defendants, each of whom faces a mandatory sentence of life in federal prison. The FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, along with several local law enforcement agencies, investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Greg Staples and Gregory Scally of the Santa Ana Branch Office, along with Trial Attorneys Grace Bowen and Christopher Matthews of the Justice Department’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section, are prosecuting this case.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court. The investigation and prosecution of this case demonstrate the Department’s commitment to holding accountable those who engage in violent crime and racketeering.
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Violent Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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