Florencia 13 Mexican street gang indiscriminately shot at African Americans who ventured into areas included in its criminal empire

Ten members of a southern California gang that indiscriminately shot at African Americans who ventured into areas included in its criminal empire were convicted Monday of a multitude of federal charges, ranging from drug trafficking to attempted murder. The verdicts issued to the members and associates of the Florencia 13 Mexican street gang followed a 3½-month trial in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, in which prosecutors painted a portrait of a racist, violent mob that ran its gangster enterprise without any regard for the law – both on the street and inside the prison. In addition to controlling drug distribution in the unincorporated areas of L.A., it forced other miscreants to pay a fee to indulge in criminal activities in their zone, prosecutors argued. But the gang’s most notorious publicity came from its penchant for targeting Blacks who entered neighborhoods where it operated. The latest group convicted was among 102 gang members charged in four related indictments. To date, 76 of them have either pleaded guilty or have been convicted at trial. Those convicted Monday will be sentenced on Sept. 9.

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