Jose Aguilar, also known as Slim, was handed a 22-year prison sentence for his involvement in the August 11, 2018 murder of 19-year-old Gerson Romero, via the US Attorneys Office. Two months following the sentencing of his co-defendant, Jonathan Escobar, to 26 years in prison, Aguilar admitted to being a member of the 19th Street/16th Street Sureños, a criminal enterprise fueling the gang war epidemic in San Francisco.
United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and San Francisco Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Tatum King announced the sentencing on September 5, 2023, pledging, “We will not surrender the streets of San Francisco to violent street gangs.”
These resolute sentiments echo across America, where the struggle against the ruthless underworld of gang violence wages on. The 19th Street/16th Street Sureños, united two separate gangs to allegedly control an area bounded by San Francisco streets like Dolores and Folsom.
Aguilar and Escobar were part of a group who targeted Romero and his friends on that fateful day in 2018, mistaking them for members of a rival gang. Seizing the opportunity to retaliate for an earlier drive-by shooting, they opened fire on the group, continuing to shoot even after Romero had fallen.
With the sentencing of Aguilar and Escobar, some semblance of justice has been served. Special Agent in Charge King expressed hope that the sentencing would offer "some solace for the senseless loss of loved one's."
