LOS ANGELES — A Sherman Oaks man who ran a San Fernando Valley-based street gang was sentenced Monday to 16 years in federal prison for committing federal racketeering and narcotics crimes.
Mario Alberto Miranda, 32 — the lead defendant in a federal grand jury indictment targeting 31 gang members and associates — pleaded guilty in June to one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. He has been in federal custody since February 2019, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
As the gang’s shot caller, Miranda ordered accomplices to attack and assault rival gang members and individuals suspected of cooperating with law enforcement, according to court documents.
He sold methamphetamine to buyers at a Pacoima residence as well as at a North Hollywood clothing store that he ran.
Miranda maintained and operated illegal marijuana grow houses in Pacoima and Palmdale. At the Pacoima residence, Miranda and an accomplice maintained at least 125 marijuana plants weighing a total of nearly 315 pounds.
Federal prosecutors secured 30 guilty pleas in the case, including 19 convictions that have resulted in prison sentences of at least 10 years. One of them, gang member Jesus Gonzalez Jr., 30, of Sun Valley, is serving a 31-year federal prison sentence for committing multiple felonies, including the attempted murders of three rival gangsters, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.