San Francisco Man Pleads Guilty To Gang Shooting

SAN FRANCISCO – Aramis Alvarez-Arroyo pleaded guilty in federal court today to attempted murder in aid of racketeering, announced Acting United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Craig D. Fair.

A federal grand jury indicted Alvarez-Arroyo on April 15, 2021.  In the plea agreement that Alvarez-Arroyo, 20, of San Francisco, entered today, he admitted that from 2018 through April 2021 he aspired to join the Norteños, a street gang operating in San Francisco’s Mission District (SFMD) whose members enrich themselves and the gang by robbery, drug dealing, firearms trafficking, and other crimes.  Violence quickly earns prestige in the gang, Alvarez-Arroyo acknowledged in his plea agreement, and SFMD Norteños members and associates commit acts of violence, including murder and attempted murder, against perceived gang rivals to gain prestige and promotion within the gang. 

Alvarez-Arroyo pleaded guilty to an attempted murder charge based on a shooting he committed on April 9, 2020, in order to gain entrance into the SFMD Norteños.  Alvarez-Arroyo admitted the details of his crime in his plea agreement, which describes the events in the late afternoon of April 9 near Richland Avenue and Mission Street in San Francisco.  Red is the color claimed by Norteños, and Alvarez-Arroyo was walking in the area at that time wearing red pants and a red bandana.  Outside of a restaurant, four people were sitting in a parked car, with one person sitting in the driver’s seat (Vicim-1) and another in the front passenger seat (Victim-2).  In his plea agreement, Alvarez-Arroyo acknowledged that he recognized Victim-1 as an associate of the Sureño gang.  The Sureño gang is a primary rival of the SFMD Norteños gang.  According to the plea agreement, Alvarez-Arroyo approached the parked car while carrying a loaded .40 caliber pistol and called out to Victim-1 by name.  Victim-1 saw Alvarez-Arroyo, put the car into drive, and fled.  Alvarez-Arroyo stated he fired three shots at the car as it drove away, hitting the front, side, and back windows of the car, as well as the front passenger headrest.  He missed the car’s occupants.  In his plea agreement, Alvarez-Arroyo admitted that he intended to kill Victim-1 and Victim-2. 

Alvarez-Arroyo also admitted in his plea agreement that in the days following he bragged about the shooting in posts and messages on Instagram, stating that next time he “won’t miss.”  Around the same time, Alvarez-Arroyo sent messages referring to an assault rifle he was assembling and expressed his interest in finding rivals from another gang, Army Street.

The indictment charged one count of attempted murder in aid of racketeering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(5), to which Alvarez-Arroyo pleaded guilty today.  The maximum sentence for a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(5) is 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution and forfeiture.  However, any sentence will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Alvarez-Arroyo’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 7, 2022, at 2:30 pm, before United States District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco.  Alvarez-Arroyo remains in custody. 

The United States Attorney’s Office’s Organized Crime Strike Force is prosecuting the case.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and San Francisco Police Department.