Dozens of alleged members and associates of the South Los Angeles-based Florencia 13 (F13) gang, including 23 defendants who were arrested Tuesday, face federal charges in connection with three murders, including that of a man, outside a bar considered the group’s “turf.”
The indictments unsealed by a federal grand jury alleging fentanyl trafficking and racketeering were unsealed in the Kenneth Hall auditorium of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Century Station.
The alleged gang members affiliated with the F13 gang have already been arraigned on 11 counts in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
Six of the defendants were already in state or federal custody, and authorities continue to search for eight other defendants, including several who are believed to have fled to Mexico.
As part of the investigation, authorities seized approximately 21 pounds of methamphetamine, nine pounds of fentanyl and 6.5 pounds of heroin. They also seized 25 firearms and approximately $70,000 in cash related to the investigation.
“Florence 13 is one of the largest and most active gangs in Los Angeles,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada. “It is a multigenerational and incredibly violent gang.”
Estrada said the gang members raised money through armed robbery, extortion and drug dealing, “and controlled their territory through the use of violence, including murder and assault.
‘We will be relentless’: Prosecutor Martin Estrada
Just two weeks ago, the federal prosecutor spoke out about the murderers of Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Officer Fernando Arroyos.
In that case, Luis Alfredo de la Rosa Ríos, alias “Lil J” and “Lil Malo,” 30, and Ernesto Cisneros, alias “Gonzo” and “Spooky,” 25, members of the Florencia 13 gang, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Both received 50-year prison sentences.
A third defendant, Jesse Contreras, aka “Skinny Jack” and “Flaco,” 36, received a 36-year sentence.
Arroyos was killed when he went out looking for a house to buy in South Central Los Angeles. After being robbed, he was confronted by gang members and ended up dying in an exchange of gunfire.
“As I said before, we will be relentless in the fight against these criminal organizations,” said Attorney General Estrada.
The prosecutor told La Opinión that, although he does not believe that the gangs will disappear permanently, “what we can do is, at least, arrest the most violent criminals.”
Estrada declined to say whether the arrested gang members who were trafficking fentanyl and drugs had any ties to Mexican drug cartels.
“I’m not going to comment,” he replied.
However, he agreed that they would work with Mexican authorities to obtain the extradition of the fugitives, or if they are hiding in other states of the United States: Dannyboy Limones, alias “Cyclone”, Javier Martinez “Javee”, Adrian Diaz; Carlos Gonzalez “Migo”, Saul Ayon Quintero, Rigoberto Gaspar and Oscar Villegas “Camel”.
In South Los Angeles since 1930
The Florence 13, which dominates a large “territory” in South Los Angeles, is also known as the South Side Florence 13, the Florence Gang or F13. It has its origins in the 1930s, and its thousands of members are believed to be controlled from within California’s jails and prisons.
“The coordinated removal of gang members associated with the ‘Florence 13’ criminal street gang creates safer neighborhoods,” said Sheriff Robert Luna.[Esto sucede] by removing dangerous individuals from our communities and disrupting the criminal networks that fuel this violence.”
“By removing the top criminals who instill fear and terrorize our communities from our streets, we are taking decisive action to restore safety and improve the quality of life for all residents. Our commitment to reducing gang violence remains unwavering as we work together to build safer, stronger communities.”
The bulk of the charges against the alleged gang members stem from two federal grand jury indictments targeting Florencia 13.
The first indictment alleges 19 individuals, including Celerino Jaramillo, 30, also known as “Bizzy,” of South Los Angeles, who is alleged to be “a decision maker” for one of the F13-affiliated gangs, “conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).”
Among a series of alleged organized crime-related offenses, during an incident on October 17, 2022, a group of F13 members, including 19-year-old Jonathan Reyes, also known as “Creeper,” also a resident of South Los Angeles, beat a victim to death outside a bar in the Florence-Firestone neighborhood of Los Angeles. The victim was repeatedly stomped, kicked, punched, and hit with a baseball bat.
Federal authorities showed photographs of the beating of the fatal victim.
He violated the gang rules and was killed
The indictment further alleges that Celerino Jaramillo and co-defendant Oscar Hernandez, 30, also known as “Drex,” on June 19, 2023, murdered a victim identified in court documents as “RA,” an F13 member who had violated gang rules.
A day after RA was shot dead, Jaramillo allegedly told his fellow gang members that he wanted Hernandez to be included in the F13 Jokers gang because he “proved that [Jaramillo] was solid.”
The following month, Jaramillo and Hugo Armando Pineda, 36, also known as “Menace,” allegedly murdered “DE,” another F13 member with a bad reputation.
The remainder of the indictment alleges a range of criminal activities by Jaramillo, including running “casitas,” or illegal bars and nightclubs, collecting “taxes” through extortion, trafficking narcotics such as fentanyl and methamphetamine, and illegal use and possession of firearms.
A second indictment reveals that eight associates of the Florencia 13 gang, including Saul Ayon Quintero, 50, of Bellflower, with drug-related offenses, are charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine and heroin, and unlawful use and possession of firearms and ammunition.
Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said the Florence 13 gang is known “for its barbaric tactics that tragically resulted in several of the murders alleged in the indictment.”
“The residents of the community in which Florencia-13 operates deserve to live their lives free from fear of violence and extortion, and this joint investigation demonstrates our shared commitment to that goal,” he added.
For his part, Kavin Williams, deputy chief of the United States Marshals Service in Los Angeles, told La Opinión that, when it comes to the community and getting violent criminals off the streets, “that is our main concern and it is the most we can do.”
Williams said that, despite the fact that the Florencia 13 gang has been around for decades to commit crimes and its acts of violence and death are continuous, “we, as law enforcement agencies, have to get ahead of that process.”
Do you think gangs will ever disappear?
“I have hope,” he replied.
Fear in South Los Angeles
Roberto Hernandez, a welder of Mexican origin, arrived to live just a month ago in the Florence-Vermont area, in the south of Los Angeles, an area considered “territory” of the Florencia 13 gang, and he already had his first scare.
“I was riding my bike on the sidewalk and some guy insulted me,” she said, after crossing the intersection. “I didn’t understand him because I don’t speak English, but his face said it all.”
At the fast food restaurant, Tom’s Jr. Original, a waiter told La Opinión that people are more afraid of the homeless than of gangs.
“That’s the biggest problem we have,” said the man, who asked not to be identified.
Across the street, Milvia Marroquín, a single mother from El Salvador who sells pupusas, said she used to have her stand at 92nd and Hoover, “but it got dangerous.”
“When it was dark, I was scared, and that’s why I decided to come somewhere else,” she said.
Further afield, at the intersection of Junction Street and 60th Street, where the shooting that later ended the life of police officer Fernando Arroyos occurred on January 10, 2022, at the hands of gang members from Florencia 13, a resident named “Arturo” said that, “I came to live in this area since I was two years old and the community continues to live the same, with a lot of fear.”