SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Criminal charges were announced Tuesday against dozens of defendants who allegedly committed a host of violent crimes throughout San Diego County at the behest of the Mexican Mafia.
Prosecutors allege the charged offenses -- which include murder, conspiracy to commit murder, extortion and weapons trafficking -- were committed by local gang members acting on the orders of incarcerated members of the Mexican Mafia prison gang, also known as La eMe.
From behind prison walls, Mexican Mafia members directed gang members to extort local businesses by ordering owners to pay "taxes," according to prosecutors.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said one such business was ordered blown up with a grenade because it had not paid the tax, while other businesses were firebombed with Molotov cocktails and robbed.
Local prosecutors recently filed 20 separate cases in connection with offenses they say were committed on the Mexican Mafia's orders, including a murder in Chicano Park, allegedly committed by a 15-year-old who was provided the murder weapon by an older gang member.
The bulk of the crimes were allegedly committed in downtown San Diego, Barrio Logan, City Heights and South San Diego, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office said.
Following a six-month undercover investigation conducted by state and federal law enforcement agencies, 39 defendants were arrested across the county last Thursday. Seven of the charged defendants were already in custody for other crimes, while eight others remain at large.
The D.A.'s Office said potential prison sentences range from three years in state prison to life.
"Every person in every neighborhood deserves to be safe from crime and violence," Stephan said in a statement.
"These criminals took orders from gang bosses operating in state prison and they preyed on business owners by forcing mafia-style tax payments, They dealt illegal drugs, committed widespread violence and trafficked weapons such as ghost guns and AR 15s. The extraordinary cooperation and expertise from our law enforcement partners has exposed the cartel bosses in prison who were calling the shots and together we put a significant dent in their criminal operation."
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