Oakland’s Lower Dimond district was rocked by a 4 am Wednesday morning FBI raid that targeted nine freshly indicted alleged members of the Sureño gang, alleging they pulled a pair of 2019 murders and a host of drug crimes.
There was a surprise wake-up call around 4 am Wednesday morning in Oakland’s Lower Dimond district at Coloma Street and Fruitvale Avenue, as the FBI came looking for nine alleged gang members, and arrested several of them as KGO reports. The bunch had just been federally indicted for two 2019 murders, three attempted murders, plus a wide range of drug and firearms charges, all allegedly associated with the Sureño street gang.
KTVU has footage of the raids seen above, as well as the responses of perplexed neighbors who observed these unexpected early morning proceedings. According to KTVU, six of the alleged gang members were arrested at the scene and taken into custody, while two were already in custody on related charges, and 25-year-old Gonzalo “Chalo” Pablo remains at large.
The full press release from the US Department of Justice names all nine defendants, and details their various alleged nicknames too. They are Marvin Bonilla, aka “Malandro,” 24; Edwin Cano-Merida, aka “Zombie,” 24; Cesar Rolando Lucas-Pablo, aka “Lobo,” 28; Walfer Mendoza-Mendoza, aka “Shorty,” 31; Gonzalo Pablo, aka “Chalo,” 25; Jeronimo “Orlando” Pablo-Carrillo, aka “Paisano,” 41; Mario Pablo-Matias, aka “Chuco,” 24; Raymundo Pablo-Matias, aka “El Moch,” 31; and Carlos Ramiro-Mendoza, aka “Minch,” 28.
“Like people everywhere, the residents of Oakland deserve safe and peaceful neighborhoods, not ones filled with fear and senseless violence,” US Attorney Craig H. Missakian said in the release. “This indictment charges nine members of the Oakland Sureños for their roles in a dangerous criminal enterprise that inflicted harm throughout Oakland.”
The release adds that "A number of the defendants are unlawfully residing in the United States," though does not detail which ones.
All nine face racketeering conspiracy charges, each of which carries a possible 20-year sentence. Four of the suspects are additionally charged with murder or attempted murder, and that includes the defendant Pablo who’s still at large, who’s charged with a 2018 attempted murder.
The eight who are in custody were scheduled to be arraigned Thursday morning before a US Northern District of California court in Oakland.
Image: OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 24: In an aerial view, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents process evidence as they investigate the scene of a shooting outside Coast Guard Island in Alameda on October 24, 2025 in Oakland, California. U.S. Coast Guard police opened fire on a U-Haul truck Thursday evening after it backed up a ramp at the entrance to Coast Guard Island in Alameda, where US Customs and Border Patrol agents are staying. Earlier in the day, U.S. President Donald Trump informed San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie that he was suspending planned immigration raids in San Francisco. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
