Notorious gang leader stabbed to death in prison

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. – A notorious street gang leader was fatally stabbed in prison, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed on Monday.

Ezequiel Romo, 47, was stabbed multiple times by three fellow inmates at Centinela State Prison in Imperial County Sunday evening. He was the former leader of a Los Angeles street gang who made national headlines for ordering the murders of members of his own gang, KTLA reported.

Romo was reportedly the main shotcaller for the Blythe Street criminal street gang. He previously spent nearly two decades behind bars on manslaughter charges. While serving time In prison, he became a soldier of the Mexican Mafia prison gang and planned to incorporate Blythe Street into the national crime syndicate upon his release, according to the news outlet.

Currently, Romo had been at Centinela since August 2023 after being sentenced in Los Angeles County to life in prison without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit other murders.

After being stabbed Sunday night, Romo was taken to an on-site medical facility and was pronounced dead hours later.

His alleged killers were identified as Cristian Moreno, 31, Johnny Garcia, 39, and 41-year-old Christian Hernandez. They are accused of attacking Romo with “inmate-manufactured” weapons in a dayroom at the prison.

Correctional officers had to deploy pepper spray on multiple occasions to break up the lethal attack, CDCR officials said.

According to a 2023 profile by the Los Angeles Times, Romo was the leader of the Blythe Street gang in Panorama City. In this role, he was responsible for at least eight homicides after ordering gang members to turn on one another who were accused of being drug addicts, informants, rivals and other individuals whom he considered “dead weight” from the gang’s ranks.

Garcia, 39, is currently serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole for first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, and attempted first-degree murder, among several other charges.

Hernandez, 41, was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder, FOX 11 Los Angeles reported. 

Moreno, 31, was sentenced to 20 years, four months for escaping from county jail/prison with force, criminal threat to cause great bodily injury/death, and assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury.

Source: www.lawofficer.com