{"id":7397,"date":"2026-08-21T11:36:33","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T11:36:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7397"},"modified":"2026-08-21T11:36:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T11:36:33","slug":"norteno-gangs-most-violent-and-prolific-shooter-sentenced-to-30-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7397","title":{"rendered":"Norte\u00f1o gang’s ‘most violent and prolific shooter’ sentenced to 30 years"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SAN JOSE \u2014 Federal prosecutors describe 22-year-old Raul Coronel Suarez as the most violent member of the Salinas Acosta Plaza Norte\u00f1os, a young man who participated in killings and commemorated one of them with a tattoo on his head.<\/p>\n

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The defense sees Coronel Suarez as the victim of a \u201cdisadvantaged childhood marked by parental abandonment, domestic abuse, poverty, and poor neighborhood conditions,\u201d who was raised by the streets after adults in his life failed him and sucked into gang life at a young age.<\/p>\n

But in the end, both sides agreed on one thing: the appropriate prison term for the young man was 30 years, enough to put him behind bars until the age of 47, factoring in credit for time served, according to court records.<\/p>\n

Coronel Suarez was one of several SAP gang members who have pleaded guilty to shootings that targeted rivals and gang dropouts, and left victims dead or paralyzed. A federal sentencing memo describes him as \u201cthe most violent and prolific shooter among the Salinas Acosta Plaza Norte\u00f1os in this case,\u201d even as prosecutors also conceded that he didn\u2019t personally kill any of the victims.<\/p>\n

Authorities, though, say Coronel Suarez wounded at least two people while \u201cparticipating\u201d in six shootings, including four where he pulled the trigger. He allegedly assisted the man who killed gang dropout Jesus Garcia, then celebrated the murder by getting DOK \u2014 for \u201cdrop out killer\u201d tattooed on his head.<\/p>\n

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The gang\u2019s other crimes included three different homicides at a homeless encampment in Salinas, in 2020 and 2021. In 2023, members of the SAP gang allegedly threw a molotov cocktail into a plaza apartment in 2023, then broke in weeks later and spray-painted \u201cSAP\u201d and \u201cf\u2014\u2013 snitch\u201d on the walls, federal prosecutors wrote in court filings. The gang started at the Acosta Plaza in the 1990s, before Coronel Suarez was born, and has been a law enforcement target ever since.<\/p>\n

Coronel Suarez was raised by a \u201cfather and stepmother who chose not to feed or clothe him,\u201d and suffered physical abuse throughout his childhood, according to a defense sentencing memo. He began spending his days on the streets of Salinas. At 13, while playing marbles, he witnessed a triple homicide. Later in his teens, a gang member welcomed Coronel Suarez into his home and gave him a place to live.<\/p>\n

Both sides arrived at the 30-year prison term factoring all of this in; the harm caused by the six shootings, Coronel Suarez\u2019s young age and his upbringing. By the time he comes out of jail in his late 40s, prosecutors say they hope \u201che will get himself on the right track and start contributing positively to society just as his victims had been trying to do,\u201d according to a memo filed in court.<\/p>\n

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\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SAN JOSE \u2014 Federal prosecutors describe 22-year-old Raul Coronel Suarez as the most violent member of the Salinas Acosta Plaza Norte\u00f1os, a young man who participated in killings and commemorated one of them with a tattoo on his head. The defense sees Coronel Suarez as the victim of a \u201cdisadvantaged childhood marked by parental abandonment, [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7396,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nNorte\u00f1o gang’s ‘most violent and prolific shooter’ sentenced to 30 years - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7397\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Norte\u00f1o gang’s ‘most violent and prolific shooter’ sentenced to 30 years - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"SAN JOSE \u2014 Federal prosecutors describe 22-year-old Raul Coronel Suarez as the most violent member of the Salinas Acosta Plaza Norte\u00f1os, a young man who participated in killings and commemorated one of them with a tattoo on his head. 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