30 years in federal prison for Norteño gang member

Raul Coronel Suarez a/k/a “Ray” was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman to 30 years in federal prison for racketeering conspiracy related to his involvement in the Salinas Acosta Plaza (SAP) Norteño criminal street gang.

There were also pleas by five of 16 other gang members.

The U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of California, provided more details in a press release.

"Coronel, 22, of Salinas, California, was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 18, 2024. Coronel pleaded guilty on January 27, 2026, to one count of racketeering conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d), along with a special sentencing factor that he agreed to conduct the affairs of the enterprise through murder. According to the plea agreement, Coronel admitted to being associated with Norteño criminal street gangs (including SAP) from at least mid-2022 through at least April 2024. Between January 2023 and April 2024, as a member of SAP, Coronel participated in six separate shootings: four as a shooter (resulting in two victims wounded and three victims targeted but missed), and two in a supporting role (resulting in two victims killed and two victims wounded). He also admitted to possessing a firearm, methamphetamine, and cocaine in July 2023.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Freeman sentenced the defendant to a 3-year period of supervised release. The defendant was immediately remanded into custody.

According to the indictment, the SAP Norteños are a street gang that originated in a Salinas apartment complex by the same name. The group is now recognized as a clique within the larger collection of Norteño criminal street gangs. Members of the gang “meet and work together” to carry out crimes for the benefit of the gang, its members, the larger Norteño organization, and the Nuestra Familia prison gang. Crimes are perpetrated by gang members to protect and uphold its 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 indictment lists more than four dozen criminal acts that the defendants are alleged to have committed, including murders and attempted murders between July 2014 and April 2024 of perceived rival gang members, transient individuals, and former gang members.

Sixteen other Salinas Acosta Plaza Norteño gang members have been charged in the indictment and subsequent superseding indictment with racketeering conspiracy. Five have pleaded guilty and been sentenced.The other cases remain pending. An indictment or superseding indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and those remaining defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Jeff Brannigan made the announcement."

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Organized Crime Section. Assistant U.S. Attorneys George Hageman and Jared Buszin are in charge of the prosecution. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Salinas Police Department and the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office.