Feds charge 42 in Poway gang drug network tied to Mexican Mafia; agents fired on in Lemon Grove raid

Federal prosecutors in San Diego announced charges this week against 42 alleged gang members and associates accused of moving methamphetamine and fentanyl for a Poway-based network tied to the Mexican Mafia, and separately indicted a Mexican engineer accused of building a cartel drug tunnel that surfaced near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California said Oct. 30 that four federal grand jury indictments charge members and associates of several San Diego County street gangs, including a Poway gang called Varrio Hidden Hills. In a takedown on Oct. 28 and 29, hundreds of FBI agents and officers from the North County Regional Gang Task Force and other agencies arrested 35 defendants and served 10 search warrants in Poway, Lemon Grove, San Diego, National City, Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, El Cajon, Oceanside, Escondido, Vista, Temecula, Murrieta, Riverside and Tulare. Seven defendants were still being sought as of that afternoon, prosecutors said.

FBI agents came under fire at 6:10 a.m. Oct. 28 while serving an arrest warrant at a home in Lemon Grove. According to the release, shots were fired toward the agents through the front door and front window after they identified themselves. No one was hit. Agents briefly returned fire and pulled back, and the target surrendered after tactical teams arrived. That shooting remains under investigation.

"These arrests strike at the heart of this violent, sophisticated, Mexican Mafia connected criminal gang," U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said. "The dangers our agents faced is a troubling reminder of the threats gang members pose, but also, the courage of those who confront them."

Prosecutors allege the network was run by John Marquez, 49, of Poway, a senior documented member of Varrio Hidden Hills, who they say traveled often to Mexico to meet cartel-linked suppliers and collected drug proceeds to send back south. In one message cited in court documents, Marquez said he had "to count some money and send it to Sinaloa," according to the release. Prosecutors said he sold methamphetamine at $750 to $900 a pound and worked with others to import fentanyl at $12,500 to $13,000 a kilogram. The FBI investigation began in mid-2024.

San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez, CHP Chief Brandon Shipwash and Oceanside Police Chief Taurino Valdovinos joined federal officials in announcing the case. The charges are allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

On Oct. 29, a federal grand jury indicted Luis Manuel Hernandez Victoria, 60, of Guadalajara, known as "El Ingeniero," on charges of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to build or finance a cross-border tunnel, conspiracy to use the tunnel to import drugs and conspiracy to import controlled substances.

Prosecutors allege Hernandez designed and built the tunnel discovered May 29 inside a store called "Buy 4 Less" at 2498 Roll Drive, Suite E, near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known as CJNG. The U.S. government designated CJNG a foreign terrorist organization on Feb. 20, 2025. Agents seized more than a ton of cocaine worth more than $45 million when the tunnel was found. The passage ran about 1,933 feet from Tijuana, about 55 feet deep and 4.5 feet high, with reinforced walls, rail, ventilation and electricity, according to the release.

"Hernandez engineered his own downfall," Gordon said. Prosecutors said Hernandez was arrested Oct. 15 in the Mexican state of Jalisco, according to public reports, and is the seventh person charged in connection with the tunnel. The tunnel and import conspiracy counts each carry a maximum of life in prison.

Both cases are part of the federal Homeland Security Task Force, created by executive order in January 2025 to target cartels and transnational gangs.