Two Salinas gang members plead guilty to racketeering conspiracy with additional indictments; the DOJ

SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV) -- The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced this week that two Salinas gang members have pled guilty to racketeering conspiracy.

The DOJ says that the defendants, Gil Vasquez, aka “Rhino,” and Jose Mexicano, aka “Armani,” admitted to violent assaults as well as drug and firearms trafficking.

According to the DOJ, 37-year-old Vasquez and 26-year-old Mexicano are both from Salinas, and along with multiple other defendants believed to be affiliated with the same gang, were indicted on April 18 on one count of racketeering conspiracy.

According to court documents, the gang originated in a Salinas apartment complex and is now recognized as a clique within a larger collection of street gangs.

"As described in the indictment, members of the street gang 'meet and work together' to carry out crimes for the benefit of the street gang (and) its members," wrote the DOJ online. "Gang members perpetrate crimes to protect and uphold the gang’s power, territory, and profits, and gang members are expected to engage in shootings, robberies, drug sales, and other criminal conduct to gain entry into, and improve a member’s status in, the gang."

The DOJ says that Vasquez plead guilty to the sole count of racketeering conspiracy as well as outlined what his personal involvement was in an armed robbery of a bystander in July 2014; the attempted murder of a suspected rival gang member in February 2016; drug trafficking fentanyl in 2023; and firearms trafficking in 2023.

"Vasquez also admitted to holding a leadership role within the gang," according to the DOJ.

Mexicano plead guilty to the sole count of racketeering conspiracy as well, and admitted his personal involvement in drug trafficking fentanyl and cocaine from 2021 to 2023; firearms trafficking from 2022 to 2023; and three violent assaults in 2024 and 2025.

According to the DOJ, nine other gang members were indicted with racketeering conspiracy, and those cases remain pending.

An indictment, the DOJ says, merely alleges that crimes were committed and the other nine defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Both Vasquez and Mexicano are currently in federal custody, according to the DOJ. They also say that the sentencing hearings for the men are scheduled for August 26 with a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.