Teen Gangsters Plead Guilty To Serving As Hitmen For Deadly Drug Cartel

Two teenage gang members pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to murder and attempted murder charges after admitting they served as hired hitmen for Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel.

Fifteen-year-olds Andrew Nunez and Johncarlo Quintero acknowledged carrying out two coordinated assassination attempts within five hours on March 26–27, 2024, targeting the same victim in Chula Vista, Calif., according to a Justice Department press release. The attacks left two people wounded and one man dead.

Nunez and Quintero, both members of the Mexican Mafia-affiliated Westside Wilmas gang from the greater Los Angeles area, drove from Wilmington, Calif., to a Chili’s restaurant in Chula Vista on the evening of March 26. Their target, identified as Victim 1, was dining with family members.

As Victim 1 and his family walked through the parking lot, Quintero exited the vehicle and fired a single shot, striking Victim 1 in the legs. Quintero’s firearm jammed before he could fire again, Nunez then tried to run over Victim 1 with the car but failed. The pair fled the scene.

Hours later, in the early morning of March 27, the teenagers returned to finish the job. This time, they brought a third accomplice, 28-year-old Ricardo Sanchez. Prosecutors said each participant expected a payment of roughly $50,000. The trio approached Victim 1’s nearby luxury apartment with firearms.

Detail of the hands of former Salvadoran President (2004-2009) Elias Antonio Saca with handcuffs, taken as he waits, along with six of his collaborators, for the judge to arrive in court in San Salvador on May 16, 2018, to face charges of embezzlement and laundering for allegedly diverting 298 million dollars. (Photo credit should read MARVIN RECINOS/AFP via Getty Images)

Inside the residence were Victim 1’s family members, including a minor and a friend identified as Victim 4. Sanchez knocked on the door. When Victim 4 responded, Nunez and Quintero opened fire, spraying bullets into the home. Prosecutors said the teens acted with the intent to kill Victim 4 and anyone caught within the “kill zone” they created while targeting Victim 1.

Victim 4 suffered gunshot wounds to the hand, arm, and face but survived. He returned fire in self-defense, killing Sanchez as the suspects fled. Federal authorities classified the killing as a provocative-act murder, for which Nunez and Quintero accepted responsibility. (RELATED: Teens Charged With Congressional Intern’s Murder Have ‘Violent’ Rap Sheets, DOJ Says)

Under their plea agreements, Nunez and Quintero admitted guilt to the attempted murders of Victim 1 and Victim 4 and to the murder of Sanchez. They acknowledged carrying out the attacks to advance their status within the Westside Wilmas gang. The defendants admitted that cartel and gang leaders selected them because they were minors.

After their arrest, the pair discussed their belief they could not “catch a 707,” a reference to California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 707, which governs juvenile transfers to adult court. U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said the case exposed unintended consequences of California law.

Gordon said the Justice Department will pursue federal prosecutions against juveniles who commit violent crimes for cartels or organized gangs. FBI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Mark Dargis said the guilty pleas demonstrate a sustained effort to dismantle violent criminal networks.

Federal prosecutors charged Nunez and Quintero with attempted murder in aid of racketeering and murder in aid of racketeering, known as VICAR offenses. Authorities said the Westside Wilmas enterprise, operating in association with the Mexican Mafia, engages in drug trafficking, weapons distribution, extortion, armed assaults, and contract killings. Gang members understand that juveniles under 16 face substantially lighter punishment in California state courts, even for violent crimes.

Nunez and Quintero are scheduled for sentencing on March 20, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Todd Robinson.

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