Mexican Mafia Case: Federal Indictment Adds 2016 Christmas Day Slaying

Federal prosecutors named Johnny Martinez, 50, of Placentia, in a superseding racketeering indictment against the Mexican Mafia on Friday, adding a Christmas Day 2016 homicide in San Juan Capistrano to the existing case. Martinez is described by prosecutors as the head of the Orange County branch of the organization. The indictment also names Gregory Muñoz, 39, whose last known residence was Placentia, and Agustin Velasquez, 30, of Anaheim.

The new charge concerns the death of Javier Maldonado, 60, of San Juan Capistrano. Sheriff's deputies responded at about 5:20 a.m. on Dec. 25, 2016, to the 25000 block of Avenida Cabrillo, where Maldonado was found fatally shot inside his home. Prosecutors allege Velasquez and an unnamed co-conspirator entered the home to attack Maldonado's son. The indictment states that Martinez, Muñoz and others had discussed the son before the attack and noted he was in county jail "on a list."

The Maldonado case is now part of a broader federal prosecution that took shape after state cases against Martinez and other defendants were dismissed over legal problems. Velasquez was the only person convicted in state court in the January 2017 killing of Robert Rios, 35, but an appeals court reversed that murder conviction last November after finding investigators continued questioning him after he asked for a defense attorney. Velasquez is awaiting retrial in state court.

The timeline of the Rios case runs from January 2017 through federal court. On Jan. 19, 2017, prosecutors say, three men went to Rios's Placentia home to collect payments on drug profits, and Rios was killed after he fought back. Charles Frederick Coghill, who drove the men to the neighborhood, took a deal to testify, as did Omar Mejia, a cell mate of Muñoz. On July 1, prosecutors said, Ysrael Jacob Cordova, 41, and Ricardo Valenzuela, 44, were convicted of murder in aid of racketeering for the Rios killing.

U.S. Attorney Caitlin Campbell told jurors that Muñoz ordered the robbery because Rios had not paid "taxes" on his drug profits to the organization, which she described as an umbrella group of about 150 to 200 members who direct street gangs from prison. Campbell said Martinez, then at Salinas Valley State Prison, was to receive a cut of Rios's profits, and that Martinez arranged the robbery to send a message about unpaid dues. She said investigators relied on surveillance video, phone records, ballistics and testimony, and never recovered the murder weapon.

Cordova and Valenzuela are awaiting sentencing. Velasquez remains scheduled for retrial in state court. The superseding indictment was returned Wednesday, and prosecutors announced it Friday.