Nine men face federal charges of racketeering conspiracy in connection with a flurry of crimes they are accused of carrying out on behalf of two Oakland-based street gangs, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The crimes include two homicides as well as attempted killings, drug sales and gun trafficking, federal prosecutors said.

Six of the nine defendants were arrested in a sweep Wednesday. Two others were already in custody. The final defendant, Gonzalo Pablo, was not in custody, prosecutors said.

The indictment, filed Oct. 9 and unsealed Wednesday, also charges Marvin Bonilla, Edwin Cano-Merida, Cesar Lucas-Pablo, Walfer Mendoza-Mendoza, Jeronimo Pablo-Carrillo, Mario Pablo-Matias, Raymundo Pablo-Matias and Carlos Ramiro-Mendoza in connection with the sweeping case.

Prosecutors allege the men were members of two Oakland-based Sureños street gangs, subsets of the larger Sureños street gang. The smaller groups committed violent crimes, including killings, robberies and assaults, to maintain its power and protect territory in and around Oakland, according to prosecutors.

The crimes include an instance in which a defendant allegedly tried to kill a perceived rival gang associate with a bat in November 2018.

In January 2019, some of the defendants allegedly fatally shot a perceived rival gang associate as he sat in his car outside a party on the southern end of the Embarcadero in Oakland. Two weeks later, the defendants allegedly killed another supposed rival gang associate at another party on 22nd Avenue in Oakland.

In May 2021, during a vigil in Livermore for a Sureños associate, three of the defendants tried to kill someone they thought was another rival gang associate when they fired at a car.

It was unclear whether the victims, who were not identified in court records, were in fact associated with rival gangs. As part of the gang violence in general, victims were sometimes mistaken for rival gang members, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors also allege the group purchased and sold guns, ammunition and drugs for the gang from 2021 to 2024.

“Like people everywhere, the residents of Oakland deserve safe and peaceful neighborhoods, not ones filled with fear and senseless violence,” U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian said in a statement.

The investigation involved the Oakland Police Department and the FBI.

“The alleged criminal activity of these gang members has plagued Oakland’s neighborhoods and put innocent residents at risk,” said FBI acting Special Agent in Charge Matt Cobo.

Four of the defendants could face life in prison if convicted. The rest could face up to 20 years in prison. 

This article originally published at 9 charged in spate of gang violence that included two Oakland homicides.