{"id":22261,"date":"2016-04-09T12:25:05","date_gmt":"2016-04-09T19:25:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=22261"},"modified":"2016-04-09T12:30:40","modified_gmt":"2016-04-09T19:30:40","slug":"two-leaders-dangerous-violent-street-gang-plead-guilty-drug-dealing-racketeering-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=22261","title":{"rendered":"Two Leaders of a Dangerous and Violent Street Gang Plead Guilty to Drug Dealing and other Racketeering Charges"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

A 53-year-old Mexican Mafia member who is also a member of the El Monte Flores street gang and another man who was a \u201cshotcaller\u201d of the violent and dangerous street gang, plead guilty to federal racketeering offenses, according to officials.<\/p>\n

\"DepartmentThe two gang leaders pleaded guilty this week in federal court after they were indicted in 2014 in a racketeering indictment that focused on the El Monte Flores gang, an organization that takes direction from the Mexican Mafia prison gang and controls criminal activity in the cities of El Monte and South El Monte.<\/p>\n

James \u201cChemo\u201d Gutierrez<\/strong>, of El Monte, who is the Mexican Mafia member and the lead defendant in the indictment, and Kenneth Cofer<\/strong>, 36, also of El Monte, each plead guilty to conspiring to violate the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations or RICO Act.<\/p>\n

In addition to Gutierrez and Cofer, 19 other defendants named in the RICO indictment have pleaded guilty to date.<\/p>\n

They also each pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute controlled substances, including methamphetamine and heroin, and conspiring to launder money. Additionally, Cofer plead guilty to possession of a firearm to use for drug trafficking.<\/p>\n

\"DEAThe investigation into the El Monte Flores gang was conducted by a task force that included the DEA; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,\u00a0Firearms and Explosives; IRS Criminal Investigation; and the El Monte Police Department.<\/p>\n

U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt, who is scheduled to sentence Gutierrez on July 28 and Cofer on Sept. 8. \u00a0If Judge Kronstadt accepts the plea agreements in the case, Gutierrez and Cofer will each be sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, according to officials.<\/p>\n

The indictment in the case alleged that members of the El Monte Flores gang members committed crimes that included acts of violence (ranging from battery to murder), drug trafficking, robbery, burglary, carjacking, witness intimidation, kidnapping, weapons trafficking, credit card fraud, identity theft, and money laundering. The indictment outlined a dispute between Gutierrez and other members of the Mexican Mafia who were vying for control over the gang.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have effectively targeted criminal enterprises that operate as street gangs for two decades, using the federal racketeering statute to dismantle the leadership structure and incarcerate street-level operatives,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker<\/strong>. \u201cStreet gangs present one of the most dangerous criminal elements in Southern California, and we will use every tool at our disposal to restore order to neighborhoods affected by their violence and other criminal activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ElIn his plea agreement, Gutierrez admitted that he \u201cregularly received extortionate \u2018tax\u2019 payments from individuals trafficking narcotics in the neighborhoods controlled by the El Monte Flores gang.”<\/p>\n

Officials said Gutierrez \u201cknew that the narcotics traffickers would be subject to violent attacks if they failed to pay the extortionate taxes to the El Monte Flores gang.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gutierrez acknowledged in his plea agreement that he authorized an attack on a rival gang member.<\/p>\n

Cofer admitted in his plea agreement that he \u201cmanaged and supervised the extortion and drug trafficking activities\u2026[and] directed the use of violence on behalf\u201d of the criminal enterprise. Cofer said he authorized the shooting of a person who had a dispute with another member of the gang.<\/p>\n

Gutierrez and Cofer admitted their roles in threats to use violence to extort \u201ctaxes\u201d from drug dealers and fraudulent document vendors at \u201cCrawford\u2019s Plaza,” according to officials.<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A 53-year-old Mexican Mafia member who is also a member of the El Monte Flores street gang and another man who was a \u201cshotcaller\u201d of the violent and dangerous street gang, plead guilty to federal racketeering offenses, according to officials.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,3],"tags":[1723,1249,714,156],"class_list":["post-22261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-main-slider","category-u-s-department-of-justice","tag-dea","tag-drug-dealing","tag-el-monte-flores","tag-racketeering"],"yoast_head":"\nTwo Leaders of a Dangerous and Violent Street Gang Plead Guilty to Drug Dealing and other Racketeering Charges<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A 53-year-old Mexican Mafia member who is also a member of the El Monte Flores street gang and 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