LA teens admit to cartel murder-for-hire plot at Chili’s restaurant — they were just 15 years old
Two Los Angeles teenagers have pleaded guilty to serving as hitmen for the Sinaloa Cartel and attempting a “gangland assassination” twice within five hours, which led to the death of one of their accomplices and injuries to two others. Prosecutors said both teens knew they could not be tried as adults if caught.
The 15-year-olds, Andrew Nunez, also known as “Shooter,” and Johncarlo Quintero, known as “Dumper,” admitted in federal court that the cartel offered them $50,000 each to kill their target. The first attempt occurred outside a Chili’s restaurant in Chula Vista, San Diego, and the second at the victim’s home on March 27, 2024, according to the Department of Justice.
During the first attack, Quintero shot the victim in the leg, but his gun jammed when he tried to finish the job. Nunez attempted to run the victim over with a vehicle but failed. The second attempt, less than five hours later, involved an accomplice, Ricardo Sanchez, 28. The attack ended with Sanchez killed and one person inside the home injured in a shootout. The victim survived gunshot wounds to the hand, face, and arm. A child was present during the shooting but was unharmed, prosecutors said.
The teens were members of the Mexican Mafia-affiliated Westside Wilmas gang. In their plea agreements, they said they accepted the hit job to advance within the gang and were specifically targeted because of their age, according to the DOJ.
Prosecutors noted that under California law, the teens could not be tried as adults. “In 2018, the California Legislature enacted Senate Bill 1391, which made state prosecutions of 14- and 15-year-olds in adult criminal court a practical impossibility regardless of the seriousness of the crime,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “The brutal realities of cartel and gang violence demand a response, not a reprieve.”
Nunez and Quintero were charged with attempted murder in aid of racketeering and murder in aid of racketeering for carrying out the attacks to promote the Westside Wilmas Enterprise. The murder charge relates to the death of Sanchez, their accomplice.
The teens are scheduled to be sentenced on March 20, 2026.
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