A former 18th Street gang member pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal drug trafficking offense and admitted being the triggerman in a previously unsolved 2006 murder of a man who failed to pay “taxes” to a member of the Mexican Mafia.
Eddie “Criminal” Garcia, 39, of Baldwin Park, entered his plea to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in a case that targeted the San Gabriel Valley-based Puente-13 gang.
In addition to participating in drug trafficking activities that included collecting “taxes” or “rent” on behalf of the Mexican Mafia member who controlled Puente-13, Garcia admitted that he murdered another gang member who failed to pay to make those extortion payments, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
According to court papers, Garcia and two members of Puente-13 in 2006 lured another gang member to an apartment complex, where Garcia “shot the victim in the head … with a pistol,” an execution that constituted premeditated first-degree murder.
Garcia was acting at the behest of leaders of Puente-13, who targeted the victim, a Valinda man named David Dragna, because he was suspected of taking drug money that was intended for the Mexican Mafia, according to federal prosecutors.
Federal prosecutors have agreed with the defense to jointly seek a sentence of between 18 years and 24 years in federal prison for Garcia, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Sentencing is set for Jan. 25.
— Wire reports