Overview
- A federal jury found Ysrael Jacob Cordova and Ricardo Valenzuela guilty of murder in aid of racketeering for the 2017 shooting and attempted robbery in Placentia on Wednesday, July 22, 2026.
- Prosecutors presented surveillance video and testimony that the robbery was ordered by Mexican Mafia figures in custody who relayed commands through intermediaries to the shooters.
- Cordova is accused of firing the fatal shot that killed the victim identified as Robert Rios and both defendants face mandatory life sentences at a sentencing hearing set for Oct. 22, 2026.
- The convictions are part of a long federal racketeering probe that has produced 15 convictions so far and was built through a multiagency investigation led by federal prosecutors and the FBI.
- Key alleged prison leaders named by prosecutors, including Johnny Martinez and Gregory Muñoz, remain charged and face trials scheduled for 2027 that could further test the government’s strategy against prison-directed gang networks.