OPERATION
Redzone
Since the late 1960s, when prisoners in California divided themselves into regional gangs, California’s central valley, an 18,000 square mile swath of the state known for its agricultural productivity, has also been characterized by violence.
John Mendoza is a former member of The Nuestra Familia, a gang whose members operate entirely behind the walls of California’s state prisons. The Nuestra Familia use smuggled cell phones, messengers and other means to direct tens of thousands of street-level Norteno gang members.
The Nortenos supply Nuestra Familia members with cell phones (something else?), intelligence, and man power, ensuring the Nuestra Familia’s hold over the Central Valley, even as its members live behind bars in some of the country’s highest security prisons.
California’s Attorney General, Kamala Harris initiated operations to help stop gang violence in the Central Valley.
After a 2010 operation had driven Nortenos out of Salinas, in the San Francisco Bay Area, the gang sought refuge in more rural, farming areas of the Central Valley.
As California’s Attorney General, Kamala Harris initiated [TK #] operations to help stop gang violence in the Central Valley.
After a 2010 operation had driven Nortenos out of Salinas, in the San Francisco Bay Area, the gang sought refuge in more rural, farming areas of the Central Valley.
Early that morning,
helicopters circled above a fairground in the central valley, which was used as a staging area for the operation.
One target in particular stood out to officers: Gonzalo “Gunner” Esquival, one of the Nortenos’s most senior members. The 6’ tall, 300 lb leader of the Nortenos was awoken by [federal?] agents when he was still in bed and arrested.
The basketball shorts he was wearing had more than $1000 cash in the pocket. More than 70 arrests were made that day. Meth, marijuana, and crack cocaine were seized, along with ~$65k in cash, weapons, and ammunition. In 2013, Gunner pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. He is currently serving a 15 year sentence.
