Federal agents arrested 16 alleged members of Puente-13, a violent gang based in the San Gabriel Valley known for carrying out “sanctioned” murders by the Mexican Mafia, kidnapping enemies and trafficking significant amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl, authorities said.
The suspects were arrested Wednesday on federal complaints alleging their involvement in a kidnapping, two shootings, illegal firearm sales and narcotics trafficking, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The complaints name 20 alleged members and associates, three of whom remain at large and one was already in state custody. The defendants at large are Larry Castillo, 42, also known as “Lil Dee,” of Victorville; Soo Kang, 31, also known as “Easy,” from Koreatown; and Bryan Gordian-Padilla, 24, also known as “Goon,” of West Covina.
Authorities said others arrested Wednesday had aliases such as “Chicken,” “Ghost,” “Snowbella,” “Lil Speedy” and “Monkey.”
During the investigation, authorities confiscated 71 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition, prosecutors said. They seized thousands of pills containing fentanyl and carfentanil (a synthetic drug 100 times more potent than fentanyl by weight) and 10 pounds of methamphetamine.
In addition to drug trafficking and the illegal sale of firearms, allegations link alleged members of Puente-13 to three violent crimes: a December 2022 shootout against rival gangsters at a Covina residence; a kidnapping of two victims in July 2023, one of whom was beaten with a metal pole; and a May 2025 shooting outside a La Puente liquor store.
Puente-13 is a multigenerational Latino street gang that was founded in the early 1950s in La Puente, according to an affidavit filed with the complaints.
Over the years, it has expanded its membership to about 600 members and its territory to the communities of Hacienda Heights, Walnut, Industry, Pomona and West Covina, the affidavit states. There are at least 14 known subsets, or “cliques,” with names such as Ballista Street, Blackwood Street, Northam Street and Dial Avenue, taken from areas where the leaders live.
The “13” in the gang's name denotes their affiliation with the Mexican Mafia, as the letter “M” is the thirteenth letter of the alphabet. The Mexican Mafia originated within the prison system to control and direct the activities of Southern California's Latino street gangs, according to the affidavit.
“Mexican Mafia leaders issued instructions and orders, including orders to kill rival gang members, which were referred to as a 'green light,'” the affidavit states. “Those orders were to be carried out by members of California street gangs, including members of Puente-13, and were understood by members of the Puente-13 gang as opportunities to obtain elevated status.”
Mexican Mafia leaders also collected a portion of Puente-13 members' profits from the sale of drugs and firearms as a form of tax, the affidavit states.
As part of the investigation, confidential informants and undercover agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives purchased drugs and firearms from suspected gang members, according to the complaints.
The ATF led the investigation with assistance from the Covina Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, West Covina Police Department, California Highway Patrol and the Baldwin Park Police Department.
If convicted of the charges, nine of the 20 defendants face maximum sentences of life in federal prison, prosecutors said.
Wednesday's arrests follow a similar arrest in October when federal agents arrested several suspected members of the Mexican Mafia-affiliated Rancho San Pedro gang in the Los Angeles port area. In that case, 13 people were charged with being part of a criminal enterprise and conspiring to possess and distribute illegal drugs.
