A fourth member of the Big Hazard gang who pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a racially motivated firebombing at Ramona Gardens housing project has been sentenced to serve time in prison.
MyNewsLA reported that 24-year-old Jonathan “Pelón” Portillo was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison. He pleaded guilty last year to four separate felonies, including conspiracy to violate the civil rights of black Ramona Gardens residents, in an attempt to provoke them to leave.
Portillo is one of eight Big Hazard members who participated in the 2014 Mother’s Day attack, which federal prosecutors argued was intended to push African American residents out of the Boyle Heights residential complex. In addition to his 63-month sentence, Portillo was also ordered to serve an additional three years of supervised release after the end of his prison term.
At his sentencing hearing, Portillo reportedly apologized to the victims involved and denounced his actions during the firebombing. According to MyNewsLA, his attorney told the court that Portillo has renounced membership in the gang and “has completely disavowed the life he was formerly living.”
Earlier this year, Edwin “Boogie” Félix, 27, was sentenced to 92 months in prison while José “Little Moe” Saucedo, 25, was sentenced to 13 years. Another defendant was recently sentenced as well, but records of the case were sealed by the court, according to the article.
The four other defendants in the case are expected to be sentenced later this year, including leader Carlos “Rider” Hernandez, who faces his sentencing in October.
