Authorities lay out the case against a ‘murder squad’ that hunted humans.

It started in January 2017, with a group of young Norteño gang members, who, with marching orders from higher-ups in their gang, formed a pack and went hunting for humans in East Salinas. Their intended targets were members of the rival Sureño gang and the hunting and killing were meant to send a message: Stay out of our territory, stay away from our drug sales.

But their intended targets were rarely, if ever, rival Sureños. A fight for territory became something else entirely – a two-year murder spree that took the lives of eight Latino men, only one of whom authorities say was a member of the rival gang.

The pack, federal authorities said on Oct. 22 in announcing indictments against six members of the so-called Norteño “Murder Squad,” hunted indiscrimintately and fired that way as well, unloading entire magazines into their victims, most of whom were regular people living their lives, classic examples of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The victims shared superficial commonalities – shaved-head haircuts, the color of their skin, maybe the color of a piece of clothing they wore. There were other victims as well, people struck by stray bullets, and of course, the loved ones of those who were killed.

As outlined at a press conference held at Salinas Police headquarters, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California David Anderson said the conduct alleged in the indictment has its roots in a 50-plus-year rivalry between two California prison gangs, The Mexican Mafia (to which the Sureños claim allegiance) and La Nuestra Familia (the Norteños overseer). The gangs are organized into regiments, he said, including the Monterey County regiment.

“The competition is fueled by pride and personal animosity, but at its base, it is about money,” Anderson said. “These rival gangs fight to control territory and sell drugs to fund their illegal operations. Chinatown, in Salinas, is one of these territories. Gangs control territory through inciting fear and they incite fear through violence. Violence dictates gang membership and status.”

A squad member could become “certified” in the squad and gain status in the gang, Anderson said, by the number of kills they made.

The indictment released on Oct. 22 describes a coordinated series of hunts, in which alleged members rolled out in caravans – one car containing shooters, the other car containing spotters who were on the lookout for targets or for police. They coordinated their actions with phone calls. In some cases, the shooters allegedly “hit up” their victims, meaning they asked about their gang affiliation. But they didn’t always wait for answers, not that answers would have made a difference.

At some point between when the hunts started, in January 2017, and when they apparently ended, in November 2018, Salinas police noted a pattern emerge. Investigations Sgt. Chris Lane, flanked by investigators Byron Gansen and Gabriela Contreras, said while he couldn’t discuss specifics, at some point detectives noticed the commonalities.

“There are things I can’t mention that seemed to match and we looked at it,” Lane said. “We try to figure out what the matches are and go from there and these had some of the things we were looking for.”

Arrested were Siaki Tavale, 24; Andrew Alvarado, 29; John Magat, 33; Anthony Valdez, 23; Mark Anthony Garcia, 29; and Siaki’s cousin, Anelu Tavale, 24.

If convicted on all charges, which include racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, murder and weapons counts, Siaki Tavale, Alvarado, Magat and Valdez could face the death penalty, back in use in the federal system. Garcia and Anelu Tavale face life in prison.

Salinas Police Chief Adele Frése noted there was a special cowardice to this series of killings. “How cowardly these people are,” she said. “Gangs get glorified, sadly, but this is the most cowardly thing a human can do – hunting people who appear to be vulnerable out on the street.”

After the indictments were announced, Lane, Contreras and Gansen had another task to accomplish – to talk to the families of the victims.

Before the indictment was unsealed, they weren’t allowed to tell them that in the midst of such deep personal tragedy, there was justice on the horizon.

MARY DUAN writes Local Spin for the Weekly. Reach her at mary@mcweekly.com