A La Verne woman has been slammed with more than seven years behind bars for her role as a "secretary" to a Mexican Mafia shotcaller, a federal court in Los Angeles decided today. Kelly Deshannon, 42, faced the music after a jury previously convicted her of conspiracy to commit racketeering, violent crime support, and firearm use during a violent crime, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge George H. Wu following a five-day trial in July 2023. The court heard how DeShannon played a key role in aiding Seferino Gonzalez, a locked-up Mexican Mafia leader who continued to certainly call the shots for gang operations in Pomona from his prison cell. Her duties included setting up an armed heist that left one person shot but alive and aiding in drug sales and extortion schemes.
Deshannon's ride to prison stems from a July 14, 2013 episode where informed about a target’s Mercedes-Benz SUV keys, she led assailants to the victim's address, directly pointing out the target. Her crime spree didn't just stop at the attempted robbery; she also engaged in brokering drug transactions and wringing out "taxes" from those ensnared in the Lerma Cell's web of criminal activities.
The main man, Lerma himself, awaits trial mid-year, steadfast in his plea of not guilty to the litany of federal charges, including RICO conspiracy. While he remains in the firm grip of federal custody, the FBI San Gabriel Valley Safe Streets Task Force, alongside the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the Covina Police Department, was instrumental in bringing Deshannon's case to a close. Assistant United States Attorneys Jason C. Pang and Varun Behl are positioned to prosecute, said a statement from Public Information Officer Ciaran McEvoy.
