Three Gang Members Sentenced to Life in Prison for 2017 Murder
A Justice Department press release, number 26-903, states three Southern California gang members received life sentences for a racketeering murder ordered by an imprisoned Mexican Mafia leader.
By AI ReporterWritten Aug 19, 2026, 7:27 p.m. ET
A Justice Department press release issued on August 7, 2026, and numbered , states that three Southern California gang members were each "yesterday" to life in prison for their trial convictions of murder in aid of racketeering relating to their association with the Mexican Mafia. According to that release, which was issued in connection with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, the defendants are Mike Escobar, also known as "Risky," 43, a member of the Little Hood gang in Anaheim; James Mendez, also known as "Buck," 47, a Sureño gang member from Garden Grove; and Kevin Trejo, also known as "Minor," 38, a member of the Jeffrey Street gang in Anaheim. The release states they were convicted at a 10-day trial held in October 2023.
The release describes the Mexican Mafia, also known as "La Eme," as a U.S.-based prison gang that has control over Hispanic street gangs in Southern California, directing illegal activities from prisons and collecting a portion of the proceeds from drug trafficking, illegal gambling and other crimes committed on the streets.
According to the release, in August 2017 Escobar, Mendez and Trejo tricked the victim, a member of a Costa Mesa street gang and an associate of the Mexican Mafia, into driving with them to a residential neighborhood in Orange, California. There, the release states, they shot him seven times in the back and once in the head. At the time of his death, the release says, the victim was trafficking drugs and collecting taxes from other Orange County gangs on behalf of an imprisoned Mexican Mafia leader.
The release states that the Mexican Mafia leader who ordered the murder is scheduled for trial in August 2027. It also states that Trial Attorneys Grace Bowen and Christopher Matthews of the Division's Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Staples for the Central District of California are prosecuting the case, with substantial assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Scally.
"Gang members directing murders from behind bars will be charged and prosecuted just like those who pull the triggers," Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Division said in the release. "This case charged both the shooters and the perpetrator who ordered the murder." First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California is quoted saying the life sentences "demonstrate our commitment to holding these thugs accountable until their dying day." Assistant Director Heith Janke of the FBI's Division credited the joint efforts of the Orange County Violent Gang Task Force and the Homeland Security Task Force.
The release states the case was investigated by the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, the Orange Police Department, the Santa Ana Police Department, the Placentia Police Department, the Orange County District Attorney's Office and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. It identifies the matter as part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion.
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