SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A member of MS-13, an international criminal gang based out of Los Angeles, was sentenced in San Francisco Superior Court on Monday, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Christian Quintanilla, aka “Casper,” was sentenced to 63 months in prison for possessing a gun when he wasn’t supposed to, prosecutors said.
According to court records, Quintanilla, 24, of San Pablo, previously admitted to being an MS-13 member in the Mission District’s “20th Street Clique.” Prosecutors said he wasn’t allowed to carry a gun due to “two (previous) MS-13 gang-related assaults in San Francisco.”
In June 2023, Quanitilla was a passenger in a car with other MS-13 gang members “that led California Highway Patrol on a high-speed chase,” after which Quanitilla was found with a handgun and a loaded magazine, CHP said.
“Quintanilla’s involvement in this incident violated the terms of his federal supervised release, which led to the issuance of an arrest warrant,” prosecutors said.
On Sept. 7, 2023, San Francisco Police Department officers said they encountered Quinitilla near the 16th and Mission intersection. “When officers arrested Quintanilla, they found a 9mm Polymer 80 pistol (a “ghost gun”) with an extended magazine containing 11 unfired cartridges of 9mm ammunition,” court documents said.
On Oct. 25, 2023, a federal grand jury charged the 24-year-old with one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition. On March 19, Quintanilla pleaded guilty to unlawful possession before being sentenced on Monday.
According to DOJ Chief Judge Seebord, the San Pablo native will also serve three years of probation upon his release from prison.
