Crime & Safety

Massive Nuestra Familia Gang Weakened by Felony Indictments

The gang has been led from prison by convicted felons since the 1960s.

Written by Assistant District Attorney Scott Tsui:

In the largest criminal gang case in county history, the Santa Clara County Grand Jury has indicted 48 members and associates of the Nuestra Familia (NF) criminal gang on a multitude of serious felonies. 

The NF gang’s members and associates were indicted on 77 felonies including conspiracy and a series of gang crimes including witness intimidation, drug sales, weapons violations, attempted murder and murder. To further gang activities, members and associates also orchestrated a series of five armed bank robberies using guns and fake explosives.

“This is a sophisticated, complex criminal organization that required a sophisticated, multi-faceted law enforcement and prosecutorial response,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. 

The indictment arose from the efforts of the Campbell Police Department and the San Jose Police Department with assistance from the Santa Clara County Specialized Enforcement Team Task Force, the FBI, the Santa Clara County Department of Correction’s Gang Intelligence Unit, gang investigators with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation at Corcoran and Salinas Valley State Prisons, the Gilroy Police Department, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Special Service Unit, the Santa Clara Police Department, the Mountain View Police Department, the Los Gatos Police Department, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. 

The 38 men and 10 women charged in the indictment are alleged to be members or associates of the NF, a violent gang run from the California prison system since the 1960s. From prison, the gang exerts control over as many as 27 street-level Santa Clara County gangs engaged in drug trafficking and violent crimes. 

In the 99-page indictment against the NF, the crimes alleged occurred during the time frame of June 10, 2010 through May 30, 2013. These charges include a series of armed San Jose bank robberies allegedly committed by six NF members and associates between late 2011 and early 2012, netting more than $60,000. 

The indictment also includes the Aug. 13, 2012 murder of affiliated gang-member Martin Chacon, who was executed in San Jose while sitting in the driver’s seat of a car and shot in the back of the head.


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