Mexican Cartel Used 15-year-olds for Contract Murders in California, Say Feds

Federal prosecutors say the Sinaloa Cartel hired two 15‑year‑old members of a Mexican Mafia‑affiliated gang to carry out a pair of assassination attempts in Chula Vista, California, attacks that left one man dead and several wounded before the teens fled back to Los Angeles.

Andrew Nunez and Johncarlo Quintero pleaded guilty in federal court to murder and attempted murder charges, admitting they made two attempts to kill a cartel target on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel. According to the Department of Justice, the two teenagers, who were 15 years old at the time the cartel ordered assassinations, are members of the Mexican Mafia-affiliated Westside Wilmas gang.

The pair of teenage gang members pleaded guilty to the charges on Thursday, admitting they made two attempts in five hours to kill a Sinaloa cartel target in Chula Vista, California, just outside San Diego. The first attempt took the life of one person and injured two at a restaurant and later at a nearby luxury apartment where the cartel target was allegedly residing.

According to court documents, on March 26, 2024, then 15-year-old Andrew Nunez and Johncarlo Quintero of the greater Los Angeles area drove from Wilmington, California, to a Chili’s restaurant in the border town of Chula Vista, where the Sinaloa cartel target was dining with his family.

As the target and his family were leaving the restaurant, both teens pulled up behind the family in the parking lot. According to court documents, Quintero exited the teens’ vehicle and fired a single bullet that struck the target’s legs. According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, Quintero’s gun jammed, and he was unable to remedy the malfunction and continue firing at the target.

After Quintero’s gun jammed, he and Nunez engaged in a failed attempt to hit and kill the victim with their vehicle. After the failed attempt to kill their target with the vehicle, the two teens fled the scene. According to the Department of Justice, the pair travelled to the target’s home to complete the contracted hit later that night. The pair was joined by an accomplice identified as 28-year-old Ricardo Sanchez. The trio was to be paid approximately $50,000 each to eliminate the cartel as requested by the Sinaloa cartel, prosecutors stated.

During the attempted hit on the cartel target, a family member of the target managed to shoot suspect Ricardo Sanchez, killing him at the scene. The family member of the cartel target who managed to fire his weapon in self-defense, killing Sanchez, was shot in the hand, arm, and face by Quintero and Nunez, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The target’s family member survived the shooting despite his wounds. The two teen hitmen contracted by the Sinaloa cartel pleaded guilty to attempted murder of the victim targeted by the cartel and the victim’s family. The pair pleaded guilty to the murder of Sanchez for knowingly engaging in the acts outlined in court documents.

Both defendants admitted their purpose in committing the crimes was to gain entrance to and maintain a position within the Westside Wilmas gang. They further admitted, according to the Department of Justice, they were contracted to carry out the cartel-sanctioned hit because they were minors and would face less stringent consequences because of their age.

Mark Dargis, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s San Diego Field Office, commented on the plea agreements, saying, “Today’s guilty pleas reflect the FBI’s sustained commitment to working with our law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate, dismantle, and eliminate these violent groups and keep our neighborhoods safe. 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.”

The pair of teenagers is scheduled to be sentenced in March 2026 for their crimes.

Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol.  Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X @RandyClarkBBTX.