[11] Methamphetamine,[12] cocaine, black-tar heroin,[13] and marijuana are sold by street dealers who operate out of numerous hidden "trap-houses" where the product is stored and processed into smaller quantities.
On June 22, 1987, Mary Lou Davilla Salazar, Lourdes Flores, and Francisco Delgado Ortiz were found murdered in a home on Sunkist street in south Ontario.
Peters was challenged for control of La Eme by OVS Black Angel Reuben "Tupi" Hernandez (aged 35), competing for leadership and godfather status of the California Mexican Mafia.
On January 20, 2005, OVS rival gang members Henry Valle, 18, and Narisco Perez, 18, were found shot dead in a minivan in the 4200 block of Los Serranos Boulevard in Chino Hills.
Valle had mistakenly burglarized a home connected to Darryl Castrejon, one of the top Mexican Mafia enforcers and southern California shot-caller with ties to the Pomona's 12th Street gang.
He has been using the Inland Empire and L.A. gangs to ferry large quantities of drugs and cash across the border while remaining untouchable to federal and law enforcement agencies, effectively falling off the radar.
[25] On April 21, 2010, a 17-month investigation spearheaded by the Ontario Police Department resulted in the arrest of 52 alleged gang members who had ties to the Mexican Mafia.
[26] In addition to RICO charges, the indictments alleged violent crimes in aid of racketeering, conspiracies to distribute heroin, methamphetamine, and firearms violations.
The RICO conspiracy count in the indictments alleged a series of specific overt acts, including transporting narcotics from Mexico into the United States, shooting at police during a high-speed chase, an armed robbery of a convenience store, and the murder of an OVS Black Angel member "Paul Angel" who had run afoul of the gang.
A joint federal-state law enforcement operation led to the arrest of the OVS gang members and associates named in federal racketeering and narcotics indictments.
A jury deliberated for two days in West Valley Superior Court before convicting 23-year-old Daniel Vera of murdering 29-year-old Manuel Jesus Vega in Upland on January 13, 2009.
An investigation by the San Gabriel Valley Safe Streets Task Force resulted in the arrest of 27 defendants who faced federal narcotics charges for their roles in a methamphetamine distribution network.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles charging a total of 27 defendants, several of whom were already in custody.
The indictment outlined hundreds of overt acts that formed the basis for the conspiracy to manufacture, possess, and distribute large quantities of nearly pure methamphetamine.
In 2014, OVS La Eme leaders Armando "Mando" Barajas of Pomona and Juan "Nito" Gil were convicted of violations of the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, as well as allegations of violent crimes in aid of racketeering, conspiring to distribute heroin and methamphetamine, and firearms violations.
[33] On January 10, 2015, San Bernardino County's largest gang case ended with a total of 485 years of prison sentences, including charging OVS La Eme member Darryl Castrejon, who continued to elude authorities.
However, Navarro's testimony was admissible as a lay opinion supported by his experience as the leader of the gang's extortion activities and participation in methamphetamine sales.
The recorded telephone calls demonstrated Prieto's willingness to sell half an ounce of a larger supply of a controlled substance.
[35] A veteran of OVS (Sunkist St-Black Angels),[36][37][38] Tupi joined La Eme during one of the frequent trips behind bars he made during his late teens.
Tupi's devotion and eagerness to please his superiors in La Eme led him to become known as one of the most dangerous inmates in the California prison system – a designation he would prove when his buddy Marines was killed while he served an 8-year sentence for robbery.
Prime on his list of people to kill was Mary Lou Davila Salazar, the woman he deemed responsible for Marines' murder.
During a series of meetings with the most promising Eme recruits from OVS, Tupi warned the youngsters to stay off of the street Salazar lived on, and secured an arsenal of weapons to complete his mission of revenge.
During the Mexican Mafia federal pre-trial hearings the Feds and local law enforcement was well aware of the power struggle and tension between "Tupi" Hernandez and Benjamin "Topo" Peters.
While the feds and local law enforcement were waiting and watching while laughing it up behind the 24 hour security cameras, Benjamin "Topo" Peters made his move on "Tupi" Hernandez.