SPOKANE, WA — Three Washington men have been sentenced in federal court for their leadership roles in facilitating the criminal activities of La Nuestra Familia (NF), a national prison gang with roots dating back to the late 1960s.
Chief U.S. District Judge Stanley A. Bastian sentenced Jacenir Amezcua DaSilva of Moses Lake to 120 months in federal prison on gun charges, Jesus Antonio Mirelez of Yakima to 83 months on gun charges, and Thomas Lee Weatherwax of Spokane to 75 months on money laundering and drug conspiracy charges. Weatherwax’s term will run after his existing state prison sentence for assault with a deadly weapon. Each will also serve supervised release following their prison terms.
Federal prosecutors said the men advanced NF’s efforts to spread its doctrine in Washington State, including recruiting and indoctrinating minors into the Norteño movement. Officials described NF as a violent organization that uses intimidation, firearms, and money laundering to maintain control.
DaSilva, known as “Serio,” was identified as the leader of the Pancho Villa Loco Norteño set in Moses Lake and was given authority over Norteño operations in Grant County. Mirelez, or “Dizzy,” had previously been convicted in 2022 for firearms offenses tied to multiple shooting scenes in Yakima and later assumed leadership within the La Raza set. Weatherwax, also known as “Wax,” continued criminal activity while serving a lengthy state sentence, overseeing drug smuggling and financial operations for NF from within the Washington State Penitentiary.
U.S. Attorney Pete Serrano said that even incarceration did not stop the men from engaging in violent crime. “The significant sentences imposed in these cases reflect the lengths to which federal law enforcement will go to protect our communities from being preyed upon by dangerous gang members,” he said in a statement.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Bureau of Prisons, Homeland Security Investigations, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Yakima Police Department, and Washington State Department of Corrections collaborated in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Caitlin Baunsgard and Benjamin Seal prosecuted the case.
