Source: Office of United States Attorneys
SAN JOSE – Gil Vasquez, aka “Rhino,” and Jose Mexicano, aka “Armani,” two members of the Salinas Acosta Plaza (SAP) Norteño criminal street gang based in Salinas, Calif., pleaded guilty in federal court today to racketeering conspiracy.
Vasquez, 37, and Mexicano, 26, both of Salinas, were indicted by a federal grand jury on April 18, 2024, along with multiple other defendants, on one count of racketeering conspiracy. According to court documents, the SAP Norteños is a street gang that originated in a Salinas apartment complex by the same name. The group is now recognized as a clique within the larger collection of Norteño criminal street gangs. As described in the indictment, members of the street gang “meet and work together” to carry out crimes for the benefit of the street gang, its members, the larger Norteño organization, and the Nuestra Familia prison gang. Gang members perpetrate crimes to protect and uphold the gang’s power, territory, and profits, and gang members are expected to engage in shootings, robberies, drug sales, and other criminal conduct to gain entry into, and improve a member’s status in, the gang.
In his plea agreement, Vasquez pleaded guilty to the sole count and admitted his personal involvement in the armed robbery of a bystander in July 2014, the attempted murder of a suspected rival gang member in February 2016, drug trafficking of fentanyl in 2023, and firearms trafficking in 2023. Vasquez also admitted to holding a leadership role within the gang.
In his plea agreement, Mexicano pleaded guilty to the sole count and admitted his personal involvement in drug trafficking of fentanyl and cocaine from 2021 to 2023, firearms trafficking from 2022 to 2023, and three violent assaults in 2024 and 2025. Mexicano also admitted to conducting two of those assaults while he was on federal pretrial release.
United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Tatum King made the announcement.
The indictment also charged nine other SAP Norteño gang members with racketeering conspiracy. Those cases remain pending. An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and those nine defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Both Vasquez and Mexicano are currently in federal custody. The sentencing hearings for Vasquez and Mexicano are scheduled for Aug. 26, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Beth L. Freeman. Each defendant faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence will be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys George Hageman, Leif Dautch, Amani Floyd, and Jared Buszin of the Violent Crime Strike Force are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Lakisha Holliman and Tina Rosenbaum. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by HSI and the Salinas Police Department, with assistance from the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office.