On August 21, 2017, three members of an Orange County street gang carried out a murder at the behest of Johnny Martinez, 47, a jailed member of the Mexican Mafia. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California, a federal jury has found them guilty of murdering a Costa Mesa street gang member involved in drug trafficking and tax collecting for Martinez. The victim had stolen drugs and money under Martinez's control.
The perpetrators, Mike Escobar, 40, James Mendez, 44, and Kevin Trejo, 36, were affiliated with the Little Hood gang, Sureño gang, and Jeffrey Street gang respectively. To murder their target, the men lured him to a midnight drive where they fatally shot him in a residential area.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Central District of California, the three gang members face a mandatory life sentence in federal prison.
