Alleged gang leader convicted in SF Mission District murder, RICO charges

SAN FRANCISCO - An alleged San Francisco gang leader was convicted Wednesday for several crimes, including racketeering and murder. 

Elmer "Gordo" Rodriguez was found guilty of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of murder in aid of racketeering, one count of attempted murder in aid of racketeering and one count of use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence through his role in the MS-13 20th Street Clique. 

He faces a mandatory life sentence. Authorities said he won't be sentenced until September.

Authorities said Rodriguez was the leader of the 20th Street Clique and ordered the murder of a suspected rival Norteno gang member Jorge Martinez back in 2017. 

Martinez was celebrating his birthday with his son on March 17 at a Warriors game before heading to a bar in the Mission District. MS-13 gang members were also present at that bar, officials said.

Rodriguez ordered a clique member to murder Martinez, authorities said. When Martinez left the bar, he was followed by an MS-13 clique member who shot him to death. 

Rodriguez was additionally convicted for ordering the murder of fellow member Giovanni "P Wee" Alvarez on May 25, whom he and other clique members believed to be working with law enforcement.

Rodriguez, Edwin "Muerte" Alvardo Amaya, and Kenneth "Nesio" Campos lured Alvarez to a car where they drove him to Bernal Heights Park, where they hacked Alvarez to death with a machete; striking him in the face and torso. Campos and Alvarado Amaya have since pleaded guilty and been sentenced for their roles, according to officials. They are serving 17 and 25 months, respectively.

Rodriguez was convicted on other charges for extortion attempts in November 2017 in the Tenderloin District, and in "previously unsolved homicides," dating as early as 2015.

Thirteen other defendants were convicted in the investigation into the RICO, murder, and attempted murder charges with Rodriguez. Sentences range as low as three years to as high as 25 years, excluding Rodriguez's sentence.