SAN DIEGO — San Diego police and the San Diego District Attorney's Office announced they've taken down a crime ring connected to the Mexican Mafia.
The announcement was made during a news conference with several local law enforcement agencies as well as the FBI Tuesday morning.
According to District Attorney Summer Stephan, seven defendants were arrested. Six of them were arraigned last week. The seventh defendant is scheduled to be arraigned Friday.
The arrests happened during raids December 7.
The home at the center of the investigation is located on Wunderlin Avenue in Encanto. Inside, police said they found weapons, ammunition, drugs, and cash. Police said the home was being used as a crime den. According to court paperwork, some of the defendants are accused of kidnapping a man and holding him for ransom.
The district attorney's office said the defendants were taking their direction from Ronnie Ayala, an inmate currently on death row with ties to the Mexican Mafia.
"What is disturbing is that the key leader of the Mexican Mafia that had its tentacles in this particular criminal organization was doing it from death row in prison. [He] was using illegal cell phones to conduct this kind of activity," said District Attorney Summer Stephan.
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