O.C. Mexican Mafia Leader, Two Other Gangsters Federally Charged with Christmas 2016 San Juan Capistrano Murder

SANTA ANA, California - An incarcerated reputed leader of the Orange County Mexican Mafia and two of his gang associates have been charged in a superseding indictment with the murder in San Juan Capistrano of a victim who was killed in his home on Christmas morning 2016, the Justice Department announced today.

The superseding indictment returned on Wednesday charges the following defendants with murder in aid of racketeering:

• Johnny Martinez, 50, a.k.a. "Crow," of Placentia, a jailed leader of the O.C. Mexican Mafia;
• Gregory Muñoz, 39, a.k.a. "Snoopy," and "Louie," of Placentia; and
• Agustin Velasquez, 30, a.k.a. "Boogie," of Anaheim.

All three defendants are expected to be arraigned in U.S. District Court in the coming weeks.

The Mexican Mafia, a.k.a. "La Eme," is a U.S.-based prison gang that has immense control over Hispanic street gangs in Southern California, directing illegal activities from prisons and collecting a portion of the proceeds from drug trafficking, illegal gambling, and other crimes committed on the streets.

According to the indictment, Velasquez and a co-conspirator broke into a residence in San Juan Capistrano, intending to assault an individual identified in court documents as "F.M.," Instead they killed F.M.'s father, J.M. In the months leading up to J.M.'s death, F.M. had been the topic of conversations between Martinez and Muñoz, and between Muñoz and others, including that F.M. had been in county jail and was "on a list," according to court documents.

The indictment further alleges that in January 2017, Muñoz, on Martinez's behalf, ordered Velasquez and two co-defendants - Ysrael Jacob Cordova, 41, a.k.a. "Trips," and "Tripper," of Placentia, and Ricardo Valenzuela, 44, a.k.a. "Solo," of Buena Park -to rob an individual identified in court documents as "R.R." On January 19, 2017, an O.C. Mexican Mafia associate drove Velasquez, Cordova, and Valenzuela to R.R.'s neighborhood to rob him at gunpoint. The three men, armed with firearms, confronted the victim at gunpoint outside the victim's home. Cordova then shot and killed R.R.

Cordova and Valenzuela were convicted of R.R.'s murder at trial in federal court in July 2026. Their sentencing hearings are scheduled for March 25, 2027.

Martinez and others remain charged with federal racketeering crimes that they engaged in widespread violence, extortion, and drug trafficking by the O.C. Mexican Mafia from 2016 to April 2022.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

If convicted, Martinez, Muñoz, and Velasquez would face a mandatory sentence of life in federal prison and would be eligible for the death penalty.

The FBI's Los Angeles Field Office; the Orange County Sheriff's Department, the Santa Ana Police Department; the Anaheim Police Department; the Fullerton Police Department; the Placentia Police Department; and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) investigated this matter.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders.

Assistant United States Attorneys Greg Scally, Greg Staples, and Erin Kiss of the Orange County Office and Trial Attorney Ralph Paradiso of the Justice Department Criminal Division's Violent Crime and Racketeering Section are prosecuting this case.