Former San Francisco Sureño to receive 11 years in first sentence of major 2018 RICO case

Mario Reyes pleaded guilty to a racketeering offense, and prosecutors say he participated in a 2013 "hunt" for rivals that resulted in another person killing a 19-year-old college student.

SAN FRANCISCO — A 43-year-old man is set to be sentenced to 11 years in prison for participating in the killing of a college student in 2013 and other crimes related to his alleged gang membership, court records show.

Mario “Shy Boy” Reyes is set to become the first person sentenced in a major 2018 racketeering case that accused members of the San Francisco-based 19th Street Sureños with a total of seven murders. Prosecutors now say, though, that Reyes has “abandoned” his gang membership, gotten sober and hopes to turn his life around.

“The Court is faced with the unusual circumstance of a defendant who has committed gravely serious crimes over a long period of time but appears to have given up criminality by the time of his sentencing,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo, which says they would have sought additional prison time if they doubted Reyes was sincere.

Reyes was set to be sentenced Tuesday afternoon.

Reyes pleaded guilty to a racketeering offense, and prosecutors say he participated in a “hunt” for rivals that resulted in another gang member fatally shooting 19-year-old Jacob Valdiviezo.

“They met in gang territory and discussed the plan for the hunt; Reyes knew that another gang member was armed with a firearm,” two Assistant U.S. Attorneys wrote in a sentencing memo. “Reyes participated in the hunt by looking for rivals to shoot while driving with another gang member in that member’s car.”

Valdiviezo — home for spring break while studying economics at at Lewis & Clark College in Oregon — was shot and killed after the group falsely identified him and his friends as potential rival gang members, authorities said. His death caused a major outpouring of grief and his family formed a scholarship in his name, Mission Local reported at the time.

Prosecutors haven’t identified the man suspected of shooting Valdiviezo.

In court papers filed by the defense, Reyes’ lawyer said he is “truly remorseful.”

“His first step towards redemption is to accept full responsibility for his conduct,” defense attorney George Boisseau wrote in a sentencing memo. “Also, he must repay others for the love and support they have shown him throughout these difficult years. And he can only do this by a complete reversal of his former life-style.”