Four Pomona gang members, including a Mexican Mafia prison gang member who controlled and extorted drug proceeds from other gangs, were each sentenced to life terms Thursday for the murder of an inmate at a federal lockup in downtown Los Angeles six years ago and other crimes.
Michael Lerma, 69, and his three co-defendants were found guilty in March 2025 in Los Angeles federal court of murder and racketeering charges.
The murder by means of “lethal force” was ordered in retaliation for the inmate’s failure to pay off a heroin debt to the prison gang.
The in-custody killing was committed in June 2020 at the Metropolitan Detention Center where the defendants were housed in a previous case. In addition to the murder charge, the defendants were convicted of seizing control of drug trafficking within MDC.
Lerma, also known as “Pomona Mike” and “Big Mike,” has been described as a full member of the Mexican Mafia who controlled and extorted drug money from Pomona gang members as well as from inmates at the Calipatria State Prison in Imperial County.
Members of Lerma’s crew also engaged in robberies, identity theft and fraud, and other acts of violence, evidence showed.
Lerma and co-defendants Carlos Gonzalez, Juan Sanchez and Jose Valencia Gonzalez have been in federal custody since 2018.
Along with the first-degree murder count, the four were each convicted of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and a charge of violent crimes in aid of racketeering.
The convictions are part of a larger RICO case in which federal prosecutors have secured 16 other guilty verdicts.