LOS ANGELES - A member of the Mexican Mafia prison gang who controlled and extorted Latino street gangs in the Pomona area and three of his underlings were sentenced today to life in federal prison for racketeering-related crimes, including the June 2020 murder of a federal inmate in Los Angeles.

Michael Lerma, 69, a.k.a. "Pomona Mike" and "Big Mike," was sentenced by United States District Judge George H. Wu, who also ordered him and the three other defendants to pay $10,365 in restitution.

Judge Wu also sentenced the following defendants to life in federal prison:

• Carlos Gonzalez, 42, a.k.a. "Popeye";
• Juan Sanchez, 33, a.k.a. "Squeaks"; and
• Jose Valencia Gonzalez, 44, a.k.a. "Swifty."

At the conclusion of a 20-day trial, a jury in March 2025 found all four defendants guilty of one count of racketeering conspiracy, one count of violent crimes in aid of racketeering (VICAR) murder, and one count of first-degree murder within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.

The jury also found Lerma and Valencia Gonzalez guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances (methamphetamine and heroin) at MDC Los Angeles (a federal prison in downtown Los Angeles) and in the Pomona area. Finally, the jury found Gonzalez and Valencia Gonzalez guilty of one count of being felons in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Sanchez was found not guilty of one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

All four defendants have been in federal custody since 2018.

From February 2012 to June 2020, Lerma - a full member of the Mexican Mafia prison gang - controlled and extorted drug proceeds from Latino street gangs in and around Pomona, as well as from incarcerated Latinos in Calipatria State Prison in Imperial County. Members of Lerma's criminal enterprise also engaged in robberies, identity theft and fraud, drug trafficking, and other acts of violence.

In June 2020, Lerma directed three Mexican Mafia-linked Pomona gang members to enter a cell at MDC Los Angeles and kill a victim - identified in court documents as "S.B." S.B. was murdered in retaliation for S.B. failing to pay drug debts deemed owed to Lerma's cell of the Mexican Mafia prison gang.

"[Lerma's] role as the leader of a violent criminal enterprise reflects the danger he remains to the community," prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. "His direct involvement in the murder of an inmate at a [Federal Bureau of Prisons] facility and attempts to cover-up the crime reflects his cruelty, his cunning, and his power."

Federal prosecutors so far have secured nine convictions in this case, including that of Cheryl Perez-Castaneda, 63, of Pomona, who is serving a 12-year prison sentence for using her power on the street as a "señora" - a high-level female associate of Lerma's - to solicit a murder and for participating in a carjacking attempt that resulted a July 2013 shooting.

The FBI's San Gabriel Valley Safe Streets Task Force (SGVSSTF), which is comprised of agents and officers with the FBI, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the Pomona Police Department, the El Monte Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, investigated this matter in conjunction with the FBI's Los Angeles Metropolitan Violent Crime Task Force. The Pomona Police Department is the sponsoring agency of the SGVSSTF and has been the headquarters for the task force since its inception in 2008.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kyle W. Kahan of the General Crimes Section, Kellye Ng of the Major Crimes Section, and Jason A. Gorn of the Transnational Organized Crime Section prosecuted this case.