Murder Squad Murdered Bystanders During Hunts For Rival Gang Members

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California: This Monday, five members of the so-called Murder Squad, who killed for fun and killed innocent bystanders while hunting down individuals they believed to be rival gang members, were given a total sentence of 161 years in prison. This week, the five defendants nicknamed Gunner and Hitter and ranging in age from 27 to 37 were dealt a cruel and useless lesson regarding the horrific and pointless violence that left a small California city with 11 fatalities and 17 injured from firearms.

Members Of Murder Squad

They were: 27-year-old Siaki Shocky Gunner Tavale; 37-year-old John Romeo Magat; 27-year-old Anthony Hitter Tony Boronda Valdez; 28-year-old Anelu Angel Tavale; and 33-year-old Mark Anthony Tony from Santa Rita Garcia, who received a 25-year sentence. Within the murder and racketeering conspiracy, they entered a guilty plea in May, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The Murder Squad terrorized Salinas, killing people for fun, and changed the lives of countless innocent people in our neighborhood forever. According to the court documents, their actions are abhorrent.

All About Murder Squad And Their Rivals

The gang belongs to the group of street gangs in Northern California known as Norteños. They went to rival Sureños, or street gang members in Southern California or others they believed to be associated with them, in Salinas, a 163,542-person city located more than 100 miles south of San Francisco. Prosecutors claimed that the group conducted their hunts using military-style tactics. They drove in a convoy with cars designated as spotters and shooters. They specifically targeted male Hispanics, those with shaved hair, and wearers of the competing hue, blue.

They did not always wait for a response before firing, but occasionally they would hit up a target to find out if they were members of the same gang before firing. Upon emptying their magazines, they quickly drove off, with the spotter car trailing behind to divert or obstruct law enforcement. Between 2015 and 2018, they were accountable for the deaths of eleven individuals. 17 more people were shot at but managed to live. Prosecutors stated that the majority of the victims did not belong to a competing gang. Some were caught in the crossfire and weren’t even the intended targets.

Delinquency Of Murder Squad

In one instance, the gang shot at least 35 rounds at a man who was strolling down the street in November 2018 in remembrance of the deceased gang member’s birthday. The man was hit in the head and killed. Then-Salinas Police Chief Adele Frése stated at a press conference declaring the indictments in October 2020 that the atrocities left locals in crippling fear and that it was made worse by the fact that the victims were just regular city people who happened to be in a public place when the murder squad was on the prowl.

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