San Diego, California: FBI Agents Fired On in Lemon Grove as 42 Are Charged in Gang Drug Case

Federal agents came under fire in Lemon Grove early on Wednesday as a two day takedown swept San Diego County, and four federal grand jury indictments now charge 42 alleged members and associates of county street gangs with distributing large amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California said.

Hundreds of FBI agents, members of the North County Regional Gang Task Force and federal, state and local officers arrested 35 defendants on Wednesday and Thursday and executed 10 search warrants on homes and vehicles, prosecutors said. The searches and arrests reached Poway, Lemon Grove, San Diego, National City, Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, El Cajon, Oceanside, Escondido and Vista in San Diego County, and Temecula, Murrieta, Riverside and Tulare beyond it. As of 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, seven defendants were still being sought. Authorities seized drugs, guns, ammunition and cash during the takedown and throughout the investigation.

Shots fired in Lemon Grove

The shooting happened at about 6:10 a.m. on Wednesday at a home in Lemon Grove, where FBI agents were serving an arrest warrant. After the agents identified themselves, prosecutors said, multiple shots were fired in their direction from inside the residence, through the front door and the front window. No one was hit. The agents briefly returned fire and retreated to safety. Tactical officers responded, and the person named in the warrant came out of the residence and was taken into custody. The shooting is under investigation.

"These arrests strike at the heart of this violent, sophisticated, Mexican Mafia connected criminal gang," U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said. "The dangers our agents faced is a troubling reminder of the threats gang members pose, but also, the courage of those who confront them. We are grateful every agent is going home to their loved ones."

A Poway investigation that spread across the county

The case began in mid-2024 as an FBI investigation into Varrio Hidden Hills, a Poway street gang that prosecutors describe as increasingly violent and sophisticated, and into John Marquez, 49, of Poway, a senior ranking documented member of the gang. The inquiry expanded across San Diego County and other parts of California as agents followed overlapping criminal networks.

Prosecutors say Marquez led an international drug trafficking organization associated with the Mexican Mafia and organized a multi-tiered distribution scheme, using other county gang members and associates as distributors. Court documents say he regularly supplied methamphetamine at $750 to $900 per pound and worked with others to import fentanyl at $12,500 to $13,000 per kilogram, and that he collected drug proceeds from his sub-distributors to send back to his sources of supply in Mexico. In one series of communications cited by prosecutors, Marquez said he was preparing to go to Mexico to pick up fentanyl and stated, "I have to count some money and send it to Sinaloa."

The Justice Department describes the Mexican Mafia as a U.S. based prison gang with immense control over Hispanic street gangs in Southern California, directing illegal activity from prisons and collecting a portion of the proceeds from drug trafficking, illegal gambling and other crimes committed on the streets.

The charges across the four indictments include conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, distribution of methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine, and possession with intent to distribute. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jill Streja and Shivanjali A. Sewak. Every defendant is an alleged offender at this stage, and the charges are accusations that prosecutors will have to prove in court.