Salinas 'Murder Squad' member pleads guilty in 2017 killing spree

OAKLAND, Calif. - A sixth member of a Salinas-based Norteño street gang pleaded guilty in federal court on Tuesday to one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering.

Andrew Alvarado, 34, was indicted along with multiple co-defendants by a federal grand jury on Oct. 15, 2020.

Murder Spree

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Court documents state Alvarado was a member of the self-proclaimed "Murder Squad," a street gang affiliated with the Nuestra Familia prison gang. 

Members would go on "hunts," seeking out rival gang members, or those perceived to be, to shoot and kill. 

The group would use military-style tactics such as traveling in a convoy of vehicles with a designated shooter vehicle and a designated security/spotter vehicle, which maintained communication via a conference call. Spotter vehicles would seek out a target and transmit their location to the shooter vehicle. 

Shooters would arrive, exit the vehicle, shoot at their targets until their weapons were empty, then speed away.

Alvarado, in pleading guilty, admitted that he participated in six such "hunts" between January and May 2017. He was the shooter in three of those, which resulted in the deaths of three victims and the wounding of a fourth. He admitted to being in the spotter vehicle on three other occasions that left three people dead and four wounded.

Sentencing

What's next:

Five of Alvarado's co-defendants pleaded guilty in May 2024 to racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering. They were sentenced in September of that year to between 25 and 41 years in prison.

Alvarado is scheduled to be sentenced on July 15 and will remain in custody until then. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.