Teen Hitmen for Sinaloa Cartel Plead Guilty to Murder, Attempted Murder in Plot to Kill Cartel’s Target

SAN DIEGO – Two teenage gang members pleaded guilty in federal court today to murder and attempted murder charges, admitting they were acting as hired hitmen for the Sinaloa Cartel when they made two attempts in five hours to kill the cartel’s target. Two people were wounded and one was fatally shot during the incidents, first at a Chula Vista restaurant and then at the target’s nearby luxury apartment.

According to their plea agreements, on March 26, 2024, 15-year-olds Andrew Nunez and Johncarlo Quintero—members of the Mexican Mafia-affiliated Westside Wilmas gang from the greater Los Angeles area—drove from Wilmington, California to a Chili’s restaurant in Chula Vista, where their target was dining with his family.

When the target, identified in court records as Victim 1, and his family were leaving the Chili’s restaurant, Quintero and Nunez pulled up behind them in the parking lot. Quintero got out of the car and fired a single bullet that struck Victim 1’s legs. After that single shot, Quintero’s firearm jammed, and he was unable to unjam the weapon in time to shoot Victim 1 again. Quintero got back into the car Nunez was driving, and Nunez attempted unsuccessfully to hit and kill Victim 1 with the vehicle. Quintero and Nunez then fled the scene.

Later that night, in the early hours of March 27, 2024, the teen hitmen showed up at the intended victim’s home to finish the job. They were joined this time by an older accomplice, 28-year-old Ricardo Sanchez. Each gang member expected to be paid approximately $50,000. The trio approached Victim 1’s home, carrying at least one firearm apiece.

Victim 1’s family (including Victim 2 and Victim 3, a minor) and friend (Victim 4) were present in the home. Sanchez banged on the front door, and once Victim 4 responded, Quintero and Nunez shot at Victim 4 and fired indiscriminately at Victim 1’s family home. According to the plea agreements, Nunez and Quintero acted with the intent of ending the life of Victim 4 and anyone within the kill zone they created in targeting Victim 1. Victim 4 was shot in the hand, arm, and face by Quintero and Nunez, but he survived. In response to Quintero and Nunez’s actions, Victim 4 shot toward Nunez, Quintero and Sanchez to protect himself and the others within the home and, in so doing, Victim 4 shot and killed Sanchez—a provocative-act murder to which Nunez and Quintero pleaded guilty. After that, the hitmen fled the scene.

Nunez and Quintero pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Victim 1 and Victim 4, and to the murder of Sanchez, for knowingly and intentionally engaging in the provocative acts described above.

The defendants admitted their purpose in committing the attempted murder was to gain entrance to, to maintain, and to increase their positions in the Westside Wilmas gang. They also admitted they were tapped to murder Victim 1 because they were minors and, specifically, only 15 at the time. According to admissions in their plea agreements, the defendants knew—if apprehended for this conduct—that they were ineligible to be transferred to adult status under the laws of the State of California because they were under the age of 16 at the time of the offense. For example, among other discussions Nunez had with his co-defendant after being arrested, Nunez and Quintero talked about not being able to “catch a…707” because of their age at the time, which referred to not being subject to adult transfer under California Welfare & Institutions Code Section 707.

“In 2018, the California Legislature enacted Senate Bill 1391, which made state prosecutions of 14- and 15-year-olds in adult criminal court a practical impossibility regardless of the seriousness of the crime,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “SB 1391 created perverse incentives, and today’s plea agreements are proof that the Sinaloa Cartel and a hyper-violent criminal street gang controlled by the Mexican Mafia responded to these incentives. They recruited 15-year-olds to conduct a gangland assassination in San Diego for $50,000 each. The brutal realities of cartel and gang violence demand a response, not a reprieve. The Department of Justice will federally prosecute - as adults - juveniles who commit violent acts on behalf of cartels, the Mexican Mafia, or criminal street gangs.”

“Today’s guilty pleas reflect the FBI’s sustained commitment in working with our law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate, dismantle and eliminate these violent groups and keep our neighborhoods safe,” said Mark Dargis, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “The disgraceful tactic of cartels, street gangs, and the Mexican Mafia using underage children for murderous acts to evade enhanced punishments will not be tolerated. These violent crimes have no place in our communities and criminal gangs will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

“This outcome is the result of outstanding and tireless work by our investigative team and close coordination with our regional and federal partners,” said Chula Vista Police Chief Roxana Kennedy. “Together, we remain committed to holding violent criminals accountable for their actions.”

The defendants were charged with Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering and Murder in Aid of Racketeering (VICAR murder) because they conducted the hits for the purpose of promoting the Westside Wilmas Enterprise. In association with the Mexican Mafia, the Enterprise engages in drug trafficking, weapons distribution, the collection and transfer of “taxes” and narcotics proceeds, armed assaults, and murders for the Enterprise, which was the Wilmas gang. Enterprise members are also aware that juvenile gang members, particularly those under the age of 16, can be subject to significantly less custodial time than adults would in California state courts even if found guilty of the commission of violent offenses.

The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on March 20, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Todd Robinson.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley Goff, Peter Horn and Joshua Mellor.

DEFENDANTS                                             Case Number 25cr4822-TWR

Andrew Nunez

aka “Shooter,” aka “Felon,”                           Age: 16                                   Wilmington, CA

Johncarlo Quintero                                         Age: 17                                   Wilmington, CA

aka “Dumper”

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering (Title 18, U.S.C., Secs.  1959(a)(5) and 2)

Two counts

Maximum penalty: Ten years in prison, $250,000 fine

Murder in Aid of Racketeering (Title 18, U.S.C., Secs. 1959(a)(1) and 2).

One count

Maximum penalty: Death or life in prison; $250,000 fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Chula Vista Police Department

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

United States Marshals Service

California Highway Patrol

*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF San Diego comprises agents and officers from FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals, Department of Defense, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Interpol, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.