16-04-2025
Salinas "Murder Squad" member pleads guilty in 2017 killing spree
The Brief
A member of a Salinas-based street gang pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a 2017 murder spree.
Andrew Alvarado, 34, is the sixth member of the self-proclaimed "Murder Squad" to plead guilty.
Alvarado is scheduled to be sentenced in July.
OAKLAND, Calif. - A sixth member of a Salinas-based Norteño street gang today pleaded guilty in federal court 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.
Dig deeper
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 of 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.
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, 2025, and remains in custody until then. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.
