He grew up with Sureños amid murder, abuse and gang beef. Now he’ll serve 25 years for a mass shooting

SAN FRANCISCO — He’s just 26, but Javier Campos has had a life filled with turmoil.

His father went to prison before being gunned down by a family member. Two half-brothers were killed nearly 10 years apart, and a third is serving a prison sentence for killing a teen.

Now Campos has become the latest member of his family to face a life behind bars. This week, he was sentenced to 25 years after pleading guilty to assault and gang charges in connection with a 2023 mass shooting in San Francisco’s Mission District, where nine people were wounded.

The June 2023 shooting, committed when Campos was just 22, occurred months after he avoided being charged with murder in a similar Oakland mass shooting. In that case, Campos was suspected of participating in a gunbattle involving four shooters as a music video shoot for a Norteño rapper, where an 18-year-old was killed. He was never charged.

“This sentence reflects the gravity of Mr. Campos’ crimes and holds him accountable,” San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in a written statement about the Mission District Shooting. “When he opened fire into a public area, he showed a complete disregard for the lives of every person on that street.”

Campos’ upbringing was marred by gang influence, violence, abuse and conflict, according to court records. His half-brother, Jonathan Escobar, is serving a 26-year prison term for the gang-related killing of 19-year-old Gerson Romero in a 2018 San Francisco shooting that also wounded four others. Two other half brothers were killed in 2012 and 2021.

In 2012, Campos’ father, Javier Campos Sr., was gunned down by his own brother-in-law, Ismael Luis Carrillo, who agreed to serve 24 years in state prison over the killing, which occurred outside a Taco Bell in Richmond. Escobar and several other family members, like Javier Campos Jr., belonged to the Sureño gang, according to court filings and media reports.

Campos also faces unrelated unlawful firearm charges in Alameda County, which have been unresolved since late 2022, court records show. It is unclear whether the Alameda County District Attorney will pick up that case or dismiss it now that Campos has agreed to serve more than two decades in state prison. For now, he remains in the San Francisco County jail, records show.

Only one person was ever charged in the Oakland shooting — Brian Cruz, who pleaded no contest to a lesser charge and received probation. The homicide victim was identified as Mario Navarro-Navarro, 18. Six others survived gunshot wounds, including a then-18-year-old woman shot in the neck.