January 23, 2024 - LOS ANGELES, CA – A member of the South Los Angeles-based Florencia 13 street gang who admitted to distributing kilograms of methamphetamine and cocaine and to selling of dozens of firearms and 16 machine gun conversion kits, was sentenced on Monday to 188 months in federal prison for distributing thousands of fentanyl pills, which weighed a total of nearly two pounds.

Jose Luis Alonso, 28, a.k.a. “AK-47,” of Huntington Park, was sentenced on Monday by United States District Judge David O. Carter. Alonso has been in federal custody since October 2022.

Alonso, the lead defendant in this case, pleaded guilty in August 2023 to one count of distribution of fentanyl.

In his plea agreement, Alonso admitted to distributing approximately 8,944 fentanyl pills, 855 grams of fentanyl powder, and further admitted to 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, and four kilograms of cocaine.

He also admitted to selling 36 firearms and 16 machine gun conversion kits from May 2022 to October 2022 without a license and to illegally possessing firearms as a felon. 

Alonso’s prior felony convictions include a 2016 conviction in Los Angeles Superior Court for robbery, as well as a 2020 conviction in Kern County Superior Court for prison assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury. Alonso’s criminal conduct in this case occurred while he was on probation for his conviction for prison assault.

Each of Alonso’s co-defendants has pleaded guilty to conspiring with Alonso to engage in the business of selling firearms without a license. Jasmine Pereira, 26, of Los Angeles, was sentenced on Monday to 24 months in federal prison. Kevin Alonso, 27, also of Los Angeles, is due to be sentenced on February 26, and Berenice Segura, 23, of Huntington Park, is scheduled for sentencing on April 8. 

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Los Angeles Police Department investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Declan T. Conroy of the General Crimes Section prosecuted this case.