LOS ANGELES
A longtime member of the Mexican Mafia prison gang and three associates were sentenced to life in federal prison for racketeering crimes that included the 2020 murder of a federal inmate, federal officials stated Thursday.
Michael Lerma, 69, known as “Pomona Mike” and “Big Mike,” was sentenced by U.S. District Judge George H. Wu, who also ordered the defendants to pay $10,365 in restitution.
Also sentenced to life were Carlos Gonzalez, 42, known as “Popeye”; Juan Sanchez, 33, known as “Squeaks”; and Jose Valencia Gonzalez, 44, known as “Swifty.”
Following a 20-day trial, officials stated a jury in March 2025 convicted all four men of racketeering conspiracy, violent crimes in aid of racketeering murder and first-degree murder within federal jurisdiction.
Prosecutors said Lerma, a full member of the Mexican Mafia, controlled and extorted drug proceeds from Latino street gangs in the Pomona area between 2012 and 2020. His criminal enterprise also carried out robberies, identity theft, drug trafficking and other acts of violence.
In June 2020, Lerma ordered gang members to enter a cell at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles and kill an inmate identified in court records as “S.B.” in retaliation for unpaid drug debts.
Prosecutors said Lerma’s leadership role and direct involvement in the killing demonstrated the danger he posed to the community.
The case has resulted in nine convictions so far, including Cheryl Perez-Castaneda, 63, of Pomona, who is serving a 12-year sentence for soliciting a murder and participating in a 2013 carjacking attempt that led to a shooting.