Prosecutors in Los Angeles County charged 19 people on Wednesday with conspiring to murder a rapper who allegedly offended a member of the Mexican Mafia, a prison-based syndicate of Latino gang members.
According to a complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Manuel “Snuffy” Quintero, an accused Mexican Mafia member, issued an order in 2022 to kill Nelson Abrego, also known as Swifty Blue.
In the complaint, prosecutors described a sprawling conspiracy that took place over TikTok messages and recorded jail calls, involving Kern County prisoners, jail inmates in downtown Los Angeles, and gang members in Paramount, the southeast Los Angeles County city where both Quintero and Abrego live.
Quintero, 49, was arrested Wednesday but has yet to enter a plea. It is unclear from court records whether he has a lawyer. Quintero, a long-time member of the Paramount Varrio gang, has been sentenced to prison for assault, methamphetamine manufacturing, and false imprisonment, according to court records.
An alleged subordinate of Quintero, Giuseppe “Clever” Leyva, told an informant on New Year’s Eve in 2022 that he had notified gang members in Paramount, Compton, and downtown L.A. that they had instructions to attack Abrego “on sight,” according to the complaint.
Leyva, 34, is currently in custody in an unrelated federal case where he is accused of selling drugs and guns in Imperial County. He pleaded guilty to trafficking methamphetamine in March but has yet to be sentenced. His federal attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
After the informant asked if “Snuffs is mad” at the rapper, Leyva allegedly told Abrego, “F— him.”
It’s unclear why Quintero was upset with Abrego, who couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday.
In a 2024 interview with The Times, the rapper refused to discuss any potential conflicts with the Mexican Mafia or “jailhouse politics.”
Abrego previously stated that his music connects with people because “everybody wants to be a gangster.”
“Whether you’re a lawyer, a police or a kid going to school, everybody wants to be big, bad and tough,” his statement from 2024 reads.
According to the complaint, eight months after speaking with the informant, Leyva warned another person to stay away from the rapper via TikTok message.
“Let me give you a little 411 so you don’t get misled on the internet,” he wrote, according to the complaint. “With Swifty his career is done.”
“I talked to him and tried to guide him, but he didn’t listen,” Leyva allegedly said, adding that the rapper was now “getting his blues” at Men’s Central Jail.
Abrego was imprisoned in November 2023 after being charged with gun possession. According to the complaint, Onesimo “Vamps” Gonzalez, who was two cells down from the rapper, called his mother and instructed her to ask an associate if “the one who sings” was still “good.”
Gonzalez’ mother hung up. When her son called back, she allegedly replied, “He’s no good.”
Gonzalez and his mother have been charged with conspiracy. Gonzalez was already in custody; Dominga Gonzalez, 66, was arrested on Wednesday at her Bellflower home, according to an FBI statement.
According to the complaint, two days after the mother and son spoke, another jail inmate, Jonathan ‘Dreamer’ Quevedo, called a Kern County man imprisoned for using a contraband mobile.
