The first of six gang members named in a federal racketeering case were sentenced this week to 14 years in prison.
Angel Medina-Sahagun, aka “Tito,” 25, of West Valley City, is a known member of the criminal organization Florencia 13 gang, according to court documents. He pleaded guilty in January to conspiring to commit racketeering-related crimes.
In his plea statement, he admitted to stabbing a man and “intending to kill him” at a TRAX station on Nov. 18, 2017, after a fellow gang member summoned him to the station. The victim was targeted because he was believed to be part of a rival street gang, court documents state.
Medina-Sahagun also pointed a gun at the victim’s brother when he attempted to intervene during the assault.
“I knew that if I participated in the stabbing, I would be viewed in a more favorable light by my peers and the leadership of Florencia 13 and that if I did not participate, I would potentially be targeted for physical violence for failing to support my fellow members,” he said in his plea.
Medina-Sahagun said he would conspire with members to purchase firearms for the gang and gave some of the firearms to convicted felons, juveniles and individuals who he knew would use them for violent crimes, according to his plea statement.
“As part of my association with Florencia 13, I committed felony crimes myself and conspired with others who committed felony crimes on behalf of the enterprise. For a time, I was the president of Florencia 13 and exercised decision-making authority, including enforcement of gang rules and approval of firearm purchases made on behalf of the gang,” Medina-Sahagun said in his plea.
Medina-Sahagun, who was sentenced Monday, will serve three years on probation when he is released, during which he is prohibited from communicating with anyone connected to a criminal street gang, court documents state. He is also ordered to pay restitution to the victim, but the court has yet to determine the amount.
“It is our hope Medina-Sahagun’s sentence will deter others from committing violent crimes and bring awareness to these criminal organizations that target children to carry out their criminal behavior,” said first assistant U.S. attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah.
Medina-Sahagun is one of several defendants from the same gang named in a racketeering conspiracy investigation that has delayed a state murder sentencing.
Steven Carmona, 20, pleaded guilty last year to the July 2024 killing of 18-year-old Fayzan Ali at a West Jordan party. His state sentencing was delayed due to being named in the federal charges and him attempting to withdraw a guilty plea, but he is now scheduled to be sentenced on April 1.
In federal court, however, Carmona’s case is ongoing. He will have a status conference on April 20 along with codefendants Yaeger Gleave, Luis Mendoza and Christian Catemaxca-Trujillo.
Gleave was said to have been the gang’s “primo,” meaning he was, for a time, the direct conduit between the gang and incarcerated members of the Surenos organization and the Mexican Mafia, court documents state. Gleave is also accused of helping Medina-Sahagun with purchasing firearms.
According to charges, Gleave and Mendoza beat and stabbed a man in November 2017. Mendoza was Florencia’s vice president and aided in enforcing the organization’s rules and “disciplinary punishments” of members, charging documents state.
Mendoza and Catemaxca-Trujillo face charges of racketeering-related attempted murder and discharge of a firearm to further a violent crime for a June 9, 2023, incident with rival gangs. According to charges, Catemaxca-Trujillo is also accused of kidnapping a person and robbing them with a dangerous weapon in March 2020.
The final defendant, Javier Rafael Pedregon-Magana, 25, of West Jordan, was the first person to be indicted in the racketeering case. He pleaded guilty in February to a conspiracy racketeering charge and stated he had committed armed robbery, attempted murder and other crimes as part of Florencia 13.
In his plea, he stated he attempted to murder a fellow gang member, who happened to be his brother, to restore his own standing within the gang. He stated in his plea that he had stabbed his brother several times on Christmas in 2024 before attempting to run him over with a car. Pedregon-Magana is scheduled to be sentenced in July.