Two Moreno Valley gang members with ties to the Mexican Mafia have been sentenced to life in prison for the 2021 attempted murder of a Hemet man, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.
Carl Ray Flores Jr., 48, and Brian Ramiro Inocencio, 28, were convicted on Oct. 28 of attempted murder and witness intimidation. On Friday, Flores was sentenced to 10 years plus 75 years to life in prison, while Inocencio received a sentence of 47 years to life.
According to prosecutors, in 2020 the victim was looking to grow his drug operation and decided to partner with the Mexican Mafia, a criminal organization comprised mostly senior members of Latino gangs operating in Southern California and in state prisons.
He was under the direction of Flores, a gang “lieutenant” of a verified Mexican Mafia member, who were both operating out of Centinela State Prison in Imperial.
From behind bars, Flores organized the sale and distribution of methamphetamine through the victim. But the relationship eventually soured after the Hemet man was caught in the act.