Three adult Sinaloa Cartel associates charged in conspiracy to use teen hitmen to kill cartel target

Date: Feb. 12, 2026

Contact: [email protected]

SAN DIEGO - A federal grand jury has indicted alleged Sinaloa Cartel associates Poly Antunez, Antonio Quinones and Jovanny Enriquez for directing a plot to execute a cartel target in Chula Vista in March 2024 using two teen gang members as hitmen because the 15-year-olds were thought to be too young for serious legal consequences.

The indictment, unsealed today, charges the defendants with Conspiracy to Commit Murder in Aid of Racketeering; Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering; Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in Aid of Racketeering; Conspiracy to Commit Murder for Hire; and Use of Interstate Facilities in Commission of Murder for Hire. Antunez was already in custody on another federal case in San Diego. Quinones and Enriquez were arrested by FBI agents yesterday and today, and they made their first appearances in San Diego federal court this afternoon.

"You want cowardice. I give you the Sinaloa Cartel hiring teenagers to do their dirty work," said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon.

"Today's indictment against violent Sinaloa Cartel associates for directing teenagers to be their personal hitmen is one step closer to obtaining the final justice in this case," said TJ Holland, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Diego Field Office. "The FBI and our law enforcement partners remain committed to investigating, dismantling and eliminating these violent groups threatening our neighborhoods and holding them accountable for their roles in these cowardly criminal acts."

According to the government's detention memorandum, the adult defendants participated in the murder scheme and directed the actions of the teen hitmen, Andrew Nunez and Johncarlo Quintero, unleashing violence in a suburban strip mall and complex of family homes in Chula Vista. The adult defendants arranged for overnight lodging for the Los Angeles-based teen hitmen at an Airbnb in La Mesa; along with Nunez and Quintero, they stalked the target and his family throughout San Ysidro and Chula Vista; they were the critical points of contact between the hitmen, the Cartel, and Mexican Mafia; they coordinated with the hitmen as they attempted to kill the victim during the evening of March 26, 2024, but failed; and they regrouped with Nunez and Quintero before sending them on the second attempt in the early hours of March 27, 2024.

The detention memo notes that the violence was sparked by a cartel war in Tijuana. It was widely reported that in November 2023, the Cartel Arellano Felix ("CAF") stole a massive load of methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl from the Sinaloa Cartel in Tijuana, Mexico. The fallout in Tijuana was immediate. There were rampant retaliatory murders on CAF members and Tijuana law enforcement. Seeking retribution for the stolen drug load, the Cartel placed a hit on individuals the Cartel viewed as responsible, including the targeted victim in this case.

The Sinaloa Cartel first attempted to kill the victim at his home in Tijuana. The victim fled to the United States. Undeterred, the Cartel began using its contacts in San Diego to stalk the victim within the Southern District of California and attempt to kill him in March 2024.

The Cartel simultaneously used associates in the Mexican Mafia and Westside Wilmas, a sureños gang, to hire the teen hitmen to complete the job. Enriquez had just turned 18 years old, ran the Wilmas juvenile members, and coordinated with a high-ranking Mexican Mafia associate and Wilmas member Ricardo Sanchez to have Nunez and Quintero hired to commit the job. The benefit to Enriquez was clear in messages-he would be paid part of the money the teen assassins would receive and it would elevate his position.

According to the government's detention memo, in a group chat between Enriquez, Nunez, Quintero, and fellow Wilmas gang members, the other members warn them: "Bru u guys are gonna do some stupid shit." Enriquez answers: "We all getting new cars new chains new toys." A gang member responds: "Be safe guys. I don't wanna lose my friends. I need u guys." Another unnamed gang member asks: "U guys hitmans now or what" and Quintero answers: "Basically." And a gang member responds: "Anw Don't Die Come back in one piece."

The reason Enriquez and others chose Nunez and Quintero was clear in messages-Nunez and Quintero were only 15 years old at the time of the offenses, meaning under California law there was no possibility of them being treated as adults in California state court. The teen hitmen-, members of the Mexican Mafia-affiliated Westside Wilmas gang from the greater Los Angeles area-were not immune to prosecution under federal law. They were charged federally as adults and pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder charges, admitting they were acting as hired hitmen for the Sinaloa Cartel when they made two attempts in five hours to kill the cartel's target.

The first murder attempt occurred on March 26, 2024, in the parking lot of a Chili's restaurant in Chula Vista, where the target was dining with his family. Nunez and Quintero pulled up behind the victim and his family. Quintero got out of the car and fired a single bullet that struck the target's legs. After that single shot, Quintero's firearm jammed, and he was unable to unjam the weapon in time to shoot again. Quintero got back into the car Nunez was driving, and Nunez attempted unsuccessfully to hit and kill the target with the vehicle. Quintero and Nunez then fled the scene.

Later that night, in the early hours of March 27, 2024, allegedly guided by the adult defendants, the teen hitmen showed up at the intended victim's home to finish the job. They were joined this time by an older accomplice, 28-year-old Ricardo Sanchez. Each gang member expected to be paid approximately $50,000. The trio approached the target's home, carrying at least one firearm apiece.

The intended target was at a hospital seeking medical treatment, but the victim's family - including a child - and a friend were present in the home. Sanchez banged on the front door, and once the friend responded, Quintero and Nunez shot the friend and fired indiscriminately at the family home. The friend was hit in the hand, arm, and face by Quintero and Nunez, but he survived. In response to the gunfire, the friend shot toward Nunez, Quintero and Sanchez to protect himself and the others within the home and, in so doing, shot and killed Sanchez-a provocative-act murder to which Nunez and Quintero pleaded guilty. After that, the hitmen fled the scene.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Goff, Joshua Mellor, and Peter Horn.

Defendants: (Case number 26cr0402-TWR)

• Poly Antunez, Chula Vista, CA

• Antonio Quinones, Oceanside, CA
• Jovanny Enriquez, Long Beach, CA

Summary of charges:

• Conspiracy to Commit Murder in Aid of Racketeering - Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1959(a)(5)
  • Maximum penalty: Ten years imprisonment
• Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering - Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1959(a)(5), 2
  • Maximum penalty: Ten years imprisonment
• Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in Aid of Racketeering - Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1959(a)(3), 2
  • Maximum penalty: Twenty years imprisonment
• Conspiracy to Commit Murder for Hire - Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1958(a)
  • Maximum penalty: Twenty years imprisonment
• Use of Interstate Facilities in Commission of Murder for Hire - Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1958(a)
  • Maximum penalty: Twenty years imprisonment

Investigating agencies:

• Federal Bureau of Investigation

• Chula Vista Police Department
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
• United States Marshals Service
• California Highway Patrol

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF San Diego comprises agents and officers from FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals, Department of Defense, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Interpol, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California.

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 18 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.