SNM gang member sentenced to life in prison for murder, racketeering and firearm possession

     ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. –Jody Rufino “Mono” Martinez, 42, of Truchas, New Mexico, was sentenced on Dec. 2 to life in prison for murder, participation in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (“RICO”) conspiracy, and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition for conduct related to the Syndicato de Nuevo Mexico (SNM) prison gang. A federal jury convicted Martinez on March 16.

     According to public court records, Martinez has been a member and self-identified “soldier” of the SNM prison gang since 1998.  Martinez has committed numerous violent crimes on behalf of the SNM since joining the gang.  These crimes included murdering a man on Dec. 5, 2008, in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, for failing to deliver drugs to an SNM gang member. On Oct. 24, 2018, Martinez knowingly possessed a firearm and ammunition when he shot a victim at a residence in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, as retaliation for supposedly disrespecting the SNM.  As a previously convicted felon at the time, Martinez could not legally possess a firearm or ammunition.

     The FBI, New Mexico State Police, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office and the New Mexico Department of Corrections investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys from the Las Cruces Branch Office prosecuted the case as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force program, a nationwide Department of Justice program that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations.