(Image Credit: IMAGN) A prisoner looks out of his cell at the Franklin County Jail in downtown Columbus on Friday, February 17, 2017
San Francisco, California – In a case that reads more like the plot of a violent crime novel than a courtroom proceeding, Andrew Alvarado, 34, of Salinas, was sentenced Tuesday to 38 years in federal prison for his role in a brutal campaign of violence carried out by the self-proclaimed “Murder Squad,” a gang faction operating under the control of the Nuestra Familia prison organization.
The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman, marks the latest conviction in a sprawling federal investigation into the Monterey County Regiment, a regional Norteño network accused of carrying out assassinations, drug trafficking, and coordinated ambushes on suspected rivals.
According to federal prosecutors, Alvarado personally took part in six “hunts” between January and May 2017—military-style operations in which members of the Murder Squad patrolled Salinas in convoys, communicating via conference call as they searched for targets. These targets were often selected based on arbitrary markers: the color blue, a shaved head, or simply being Hispanic in the wrong neighborhood. Most of the victims were not confirmed gang members. Some weren’t even the intended targets.
Alvarado served as both a shooter and a spotter. In three of those operations, he exited the vehicle and opened fire, killing three people and injuring a fourth. In the other three, he acted as a lookout and backup, helping coordinate attacks that resulted in three additional deaths, four injuries, and a near miss.
Prosecutors described scenes of disturbing calculation: coordinated strikes where shooters emptied their magazines before speeding away, with trailing vehicles prepared to block or intercept police. In one case, a hunt began after gang members gathered to remember a family member who died in a car crash. They decided to honor the occasion by killing someone.
Between 2015 and 2018, the Murder Squad was linked to at least 11 murders and 17 attempted murders in Salinas. The victims were often ambushed without warning, in parks, on sidewalks, in broad daylight.
The sentencing caps years of investigation and signals the government’s determination to dismantle criminal organizations that operate with paramilitary precision and ruthless disregard for human life. Alvarado is the sixth Murder Squad member to be sentenced in the case. All have pleaded guilty.
Assistant U.S. Attorney George Hageman, who led the prosecution, called the group’s actions “inhumane” and emphasized the lasting trauma inflicted on Salinas communities.
“This was not street crime in the traditional sense,” said one official familiar with the investigation. “This was domestic terrorism aimed at an entire neighborhood.”
Alvarado will serve his 38-year sentence concurrently with a 10-year sentence for conspiracy to murder in aid of racketeering. He was remanded into custody immediately and will be subject to supervised release upon completion of his term.
