LA teens hired by Mexican cartel to murder rival at SoCal Chilli’s learn their fate

A pair of Los Angeles teenagers hired by the Sinaloa Cartel to rub out a rival in Southern California were sentenced to 25 years in prison for the assassination attempt.

Andrew “Shooter” Nunez, 16, and Johncarlo “Dumper” Quintero, 17, learned their fate Friday after pleading guilty to attempted murder and the collateral death of a fellow gang member.

The teens were just 15 when they tried and failed to gun down their target at a San Diego-area Chilli’s restaurant before another hit attempt at the victim’s home in March 2024, according to the US Attorney’s Office for California’s Southern District. The expected to be paid $50,000 each for the successful killing.

Acting as hired hitmen for the Sinaloa Cartel, they drove from Los Angeles to the Chilli’s in Chula Vista as the target left the restaurant with his family. Quintero fired a bullet that hit the man’s leg before his gun jammed. The victim then fled as the pair tried unsuccessfully to run him over.

They showed up at the victim’s house in the early hours of the following day with an older accomplice, Ricardo Sanchez, 28, but their intended target was not home. After Sanchez knocked at the door, the teens fired indiscriminately at the house with two of the man’s relatives and one his friend’s inside.

The friend then responded with his own gunfire after being shot in the hand, arm and face, killing Sanchez. The teens then fled the scene.

The teens pleaded guilty last December to charges of murder and attempted murder charges while admitting they were hired as hitmen. They also admitted to knowing that they could not be charged as adults for the crime and were recruited because of that.

U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said in a statement that a California Senate bill had made state prosecutions of 14- and 15-year-olds a “practical impossibility,” and the Sinaloa Cartel recruited “accordingly.”

He suggested the sentence proves juveniles can face steep punishment for acting on behalf of organized crime organizations.

“No to the Sinaloa Cartel recruiting juveniles. No to the Mexican Mafia directing gangland hits in San Diego. No to a lack of consequences for juveniles who would do their bidding,” Gordon said.

Three Sinaloa Cartel associates accused of conspiring with the teens to kill the cartel target have also been indicted and were scheduled to appear in court on Friday.

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