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on the border line between the US and Mexico
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Wednesday, November 27, 2024

How Mencho's Son-in-Law Fled to California After Faking His Death

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

In 2020, social media and narco news outlets reported on the death of "El Mencho." Such rumors have been commonly thrown around with these elusive drug lords who have been out of the public eye for decades. It is believed the leader of CJNG was receiving treatments for his kidneys.

A few years later, a similar death rumor was being spread within the CJNG organization itself, that someone very close to "El Mencho," and his family was recently killed because he had lied to the leader of the CJNG. 

This rumor soon spread to the intended ears of Mexican and US law enforcement. Cristian Fernando Gutiérrez-Ochoa, better known as "El Gaucho" was dead...that is until on November 19, 2024 when he was arrested in a luxury home in Riverside, California, living under the name of Luis Miguel Martinez.

Mencho's family had spread the rumor of Cristian's death after heat came down after a pair of Mexican Navy elements were kidnapped and held following the arrest of Rosalinda, the wife of "El Mencho." It is believed their daughter Laisha and her boyfriend were responsible for orchestrating the kidnapping. 

The rumors allowed Cristian to travel to the United States under a false passport and live in California for the past year.


This morning, Cristian appeared in US federal court where the judge agreed to his being transferred to Washington DC court next week.

Mencho's Son-in-Law

According to the indictment, Gutiérrez-Ochoa joined the CJNG in 2014 and is accused of conspiring to import thousands of kilograms of methamphetamine and cocaine into the United States.


He is currently being held in the Los Angeles Metro Detention Center on an out of district warrant from Washington DC federal court. According to BOP inmate records and court documents, Cristian is 27 years old. However multiple news outlets and news reports claim him to be 37, primarily based on his stature within CJNG and having over a decade of involvement.

Gutiérrez Ochoa’s father as Jose Luis Gutiérrez Valencia, “Don Chelo,” a veteran drug trafficker arrested in Mexico in 2015. It is believed that one of Cristian's sister is married to "El Menchito."


He would have began working with the cartel at an early age of 17 in 2013. According to US court records, Laisha Michelle was born in 2001, putting her at 23 years old, a closer age to Cristian being 27. If Cristian is in fact 37 as previously reported, and his relationship would have begun with Laisha in 2021 at the latest, she was 19 or 20 and he was 34 then


Leaked personal photos of the couple show them off-roading. Later photos of Cristian however leads one to believe that he is in his 30s. During an intercepted call with CJNG plaza bosses, "El Mencho" referred to "Gaucho" as one of his most trusted allies.

SEMAR Kidnapping Aftermath

Prosecutors say Cristian faked his own death and fled to the United States to avoid Mexican authorities after the kidnapping of two elements of the Mexican Navy in November 2021. The kidnapping was done with the hopes of securing the release of "El Mencho's" wife, Rosalinda, after she had been detained by Mexican authorities.

The soldiers were kidnapped from their Jeep while parked outside of a Wal Mart in Zapopan, Jalisco when their Captain was shopping inside. After a massive search took place, the Mexican Marines were released.

At this time it was reported that the kidnapping was orchestrated by daughter Laisha Michelle and her boyfriend Cristian. It is not known if they were married at the time. On November 30, 2021, Laisha was granted an Amparo by a Jalisco judge against being arrested for crimes that don't warrant preventative detention.

"El Mencho" with youngest daugher Laisha and "El Menchito"

Little was known or even reported about Laisha or Cristian before the kidnappings. In an investigation carried out in 2019 in the Public Registry of Property and Commerce, Zeta Tijuana found that Laisha's name appears as the owner of some properties in Tijuana.

One of these properties was in the Jardines de Chapultepec subdivision, Tijuana, which was designated as part of the assets of Mencho's youngest daughter. Laisha, Jessica Johana, and her mother, Rosalía González acquired several residences in Playas de Tijuana between 1998 and 2009, some of which are insured by the Attorney General's Office (FGR), according to Zeta Tijuana.

Rosalinda was recently released from preventative detention in Mexico after multiple money laundering charges failed to proceed.


Death Rumors

Gutierrez-Ochoa is accused of living in the United States using a false name, after faking his death. Court documents showed that Gutierrez-Ochoa lived under the name Luis Miguel Martinez.

Cristian reportedly went missing in Mexico in December 2023. Rumor had it that he was murdered for lying to his wife’s father, "El Mencho." A DEA confidential source later reported that Gutierrez-Ochoa had gone missing, murdered by his father-in-law. By that time, he had already been in the United States. 

Authorities believe he entered the US via a clandestine tunnel located in Tijuana.

The cartel leader himself is believed to have told his associates that he had killed Gutierrez-Ochoa for having lied to him, according to court documents. This helped Gutierrez-Ochoa create a life of his own in the United States to be with his wife, "El Mencho's" daughter, Laisha Michelle Oseguera González who is a US citizen.

Databases indicated that Gutierrez-Ochoa used a Social Security number under the name Luis Miguel Martinez to apply for a driver's license in the US in September 2023. After running a credit report, the Social Security number was issued in 1992, and was being used by a third party.

Tequila Company Funds

In a legal statement by a DEA agent, the residence where the cartel leader lived was within an exclusive neighborhood in Riverside, California. The property was purchased in 2023 for $1.2 million in cash by Pasión Azul, a tequila manufacturer based in Mexico, that is allegedly being used as a money laundering front for the cartel, according to an affidavit from Agent Kyle Mori of the DEA’s Los Angeles office.

Investigators believe that Pasión Azul, based in Atotonilco El Alto, Jalisco, and several related corporations were used with the intention of purchasing properties like the residence since sufficient liquidity, or cash on hand is needed to avoid bank loan mortgages or leases. According to court documents, the Riverside home was purchased with the intention of Cristian and Laisha moving into the McMansion.


According to its website, Pasión Azul SA de CV, is a company founded in 2015 by Víctor Alfonso Camacho Ortega, and is dedicated to offering agricultural services focused on the management and cultivation of agave for large tequila producers.

The company mentions working with renowned brands such as Don Julio, Pernod Ricard, Tequila Herradura, Sauza and José Cuervo but has very little social media content and following.


Owner Victor Alfonso Camacho Ortega is also listed as the legal representative for several other companies (53 in total) in the tequila and spirits industry in Mexico. Victor has denied any relationship to Cristian or the CJNG.


In response to the allegations, Camacho Ortega, through his lawyer, Víctor Beltrán García, filed an Amparo in Jalisco to prevent any legal action against him. Beltrán García defended his client's reputation, stating, "Victor Alfonso Camacho Ortega is an honorable man, who follows the law in his transactions and creates jobs in Mexico," according to a Publimetro report.


It should be noted that the attorney for Pasión Azul/Ortega was sanctioned by the United States in 2019 for facilitating corruption for the financial arm of CJNG, Los Cuinis.


A DEA informant who worked for "El Mencho" around 2010 and 2011 revealed that he sought land in Jalisco for cultivating blue agave for tequila production, including for Pasión Azul. The informant claimed El Mencho used extortion and violence to eliminate rival agave producers.

California Living

The luxury home was purchased in November of last year for $1.2 million in Riverside, California. Homes at that price in the area are usually large McMansions, built in the mid 2000s, with a fair amount of land. The Riverside home was just over 3,800 sq. ft.

Seen outside Gutierrez-Ochoa's residence, several luxury cars were parked. They were described by a DEA agent as BMWs with Mexican license plates. While some of the vehicles may not be too out of the ordinary for the wealthy neighborhood, neighbors and the real estate agent who sold the home were suspicious.

The property's real estate agent was interviewed as part of the investigation, according to the statement. He said the circumstances surrounding the home's purchase were "suspicious." The homeowners prior to Gutierrez-Ochoa living there believed the buyers were "drug dealers," the statement said.

According to the court documents "El Mencho's" youngest daugher Laisha owns a coffee shop in Perris, a smaller community near Riverside. Her name does not appear on any company/corporate records in the state of California.

In April 2021 she wrote, together with her mother and a cousin, a letter addressed to a federal judge to request that her sister, Jessica Oseguera González, "La Negra" receive a reduced sentence. Jessica was arrested after appearing at her brother's first hearing after being extradited from Mexico.

In the letter, Laisha indicated that at that time she was studying the third semester of the Business Administration and Entrepreneurship degree.

She has not been arrested or charged.


Interpol Red Notice & Arrest Warrant

According to court documents, Gutierrez-Ochoa coordinated shipments of approximately 40 metric tons of meth and over 2,000 kilograms of cocaine in Mexico, all destined for the United States. During the trial of "El Cuini" Abigail González Valencia, thousands of Blackberry messages were intercepted including many with a "El Palomo" user who DEA has identified as being Cristian Gutierrez-Ochoa.

Based on an arrest warrant tied to the double kidnapping, the Mexican government in September 2022 issued an Interpol Red Notice seeking the detention of Gutierrez-Ochoa.

In October 2024, the DEA in Los Angeles learned of the Interpol notice and began an investigation to locate him. He was quickly identified through a facial recognition system run by the Department of Homeland Security using known photos of Cristian and found they matched that of Luis Miguel Martinez, according to the affidavit.

Counter Surveillance Techniques

As DEA agents attempted to conduct surveillance of Gutierrez-Ochoa, Mori said, he began employing counter-surveillance and evasion techniques and later began following an agent. The DEA had tapped his phones according to court documents (it was not specified if these were cellphones, landlines or likely both) but Cristian employed devices and tech to detect the wiretaps.

Authorities arrested him on Nov. 19, 2024. More than $2 million in cash, as well as a ghost gun were found in Gutierrez Ochoa's Riverside home.

Lawyer Anthony E Colombo Jr.'s father in the 1970s.

Cristian's lawyer defending him during these proceedings is the same attorney hired by "El Menchito" Anthony Colombo, Jr. has long represented Oseguera family members in the US and also defended AFO founder Benjamin Arrellano-Felix in California over a decade ago. Colombo is the grandson of infamous LCN leader Joe Colombo, who was assassinated in the 1970s.

Ruben Oseguera, known as "El Menchito," was convicted in September by a U.S. federal court on charges of using violence, including the fatal downing of a military helicopter, to help his father run one of the country's largest and most dangerous drug trafficking organizations.

Initially, the son of "El Mencho" was planning to plead guilty to the charges as part of a plea deal. But as proceedings dragged on, he changed lawyers and decided to proceed to a trial, which saw many traffickers turned witnesses including Valencia relatives testify towards his conviction.

86 comments:

  1. you would think he would be super lowkey with high aniexty and be low profile , but come on a bmw with mexican plates , a million dollar cash real estate transaction , and following undercovers ?????? This guy thought he was moving in jalisco and thought he would be respected down here in CA .

    ReplyDelete
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    1. 10 54 Up there in Cali. Are you aware of what North and South or Up and Down are . Lol Jalisco is down there ,Cali is up there.

      He got busted because of facial recognitions used on DMV photos everything else was just icing on cake

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    2. 12:30 all you understood is coordinates off my post ? LMAO pirate boy shut up

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    3. Up and down are NOT coordinates nor were any mentioned moron. Do you want to google what coordinates are genius? Heres a tip they have nothing to with up and down .
      If you had read the article ,you would know facial recognition got him and confirmed him. Plus the house was paid for legitimately from a spirit company. The rest didnt matter but it was stupid, he should have rented a house on manchester and the 405 with the rest of his people not up in the hills next to the decent folks and the nice homes. You should have seen what we had in Iraq 15 years ago scanning every haji we could ,made a haji face mapping database.

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    4. These two dummies committed a lot of mistakes. The biggest mistake this guy did was not getting facial surgery to change his appearance. He should've done this first before going to the DMV to get his driver's license. This would've fooled the DEA facial recognition technology used to identify him. Another mistake was going to America. There are dozens of countries that I can think of that do not have the advanced technology the U.S uses. They could've disappeared forever. They don't have the street smarts needed to survive. Nuff Said!!!

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    5. @ 6.52. The DEA were tracking him all the time. They knew he wasn't dead. Looking like Chupeta, the Colombian whose face looked like a lollipop turned slowly over a candle, that wouldn't have helped him.

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  2. Many say El Señor 006 was killed but inteligence reports indicate he has been in Tel Aviv in a special training Mossad facility.

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    Replies
    1. That’s koo foo

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    2. Que Verguensa para el señorito menso dijo mencho, Quien lo va confiar ahora? Mentiroso y Ratero como todos esa Lagaña magaña

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  3. This is the best analysis available, thanks for posting

    is there a link to the affidavit? Can't find one in all these stories

    He was trained well enough to spot the feds. but was living pretty openly in Riverside, which is a hot area for trafficking since Sinaloa started throwing all the meth through that corridor.

    at one point around 2014 it was the "wiretap capital" of the country.

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    Replies
    1. “but Cristian employed devices and tech to detect the wiretaps“

      Any idea what kind of device can detect government wiretaps?

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    2. Jose Luis “Don Chelo” Gutierrez Valencia was killed by Marines in 2017. His son Hector Salvador Gutierrez Ochoa was allegedly picked up by the Marines and disappeared shortly after that. His other son Jose Luis “Tolin” Gutierrez Ochoa was arrested in Nayarit in 2018. That probably bumped Guacho higher up in CJNG leadership—I’m guessing he took over his father’s operations.

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    3. Not sure about cell phones, that's done straight through the carrier, walled off from everything

      but like listening devices in the house or on someone's person, there's devices you can buy from like weird private detective stores or private security companies

      like when they sweep for bugs in the movies

      where's the fucking complaint document

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    4. @2.42. Anybody interested in his father Don Chelo should watch the party he threw in Puente Grande, with outside catering, soldiers surrounding the prison to protect the families coming in, and Los Bochones de Culiacan slobbering in, kissing ass, and waddling away.

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  4. He is just another paisa nobody in the county jail. 🖐🏿

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    Replies
    1. He’s just another paisa in the feds.

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    2. The black hand ain't shit when you put them in their place like George Torres did. He had their reps killed and the hand backed off.

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    3. It was reported in the FBI, DEA, and Los Angeles Times website that George Torres, owner of Numero Uno markets, had black hand reps killed.

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    4. Where is George Torres now? Can he even walk the streets of LA or the mainline in prison. Ask yourself that before you respond with ignorance. If you ain't from So Cal, than you dont know shit.about its politics.

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    5. George Torres is probably in one of his mansions or traveling the world since he beat the fed case. I don't care a whit who holds sway in the gutter, as you so gleefully seem, I just reported the facts.

      Delete
  5. "Race: white"

    My sides🤣🤣

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    Replies
    1. American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and White. Those are the legal Human Races. Paisa is not on the list.

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    2. American indian and hispanic fits him just right

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    3. American indian and hispanic is the right combination to describe this foo

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    4. You idiots don’t know that if your not black or of Asian descent you are categorized as Caucasian no matter what your brown ass looks like … my ass is darker than brown sugar and my birth certificate says Caucasian and mother Caucasian .. so there you have it pendejos

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    5. That's because that's what your momma put smart guy.

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    6. @12.52. Who are you responding to, "smart guy"?

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  6. The fives currently find themselves in position. Lucchese, Gambino, Columbo, Genovese, Bonanno. Good for them. I can still go to NYC and build from the ground up. With this thing of mine I can do so wherever I want to, too. All that old world experience with the New World. They say all roads lead to Rome. I for 1 cannot refute that. When I add in my experience.

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  7. Cali will always be a hot-spot for cartel members running from their land of origin. Playing up the counter surveillance tactics failed this guy, maybe brought more heat to him than he needed to. These guys think that because they have a fake ID they don’t have to lay-low. Cali is not run by dumb criminals, they’re spot on when they turn someone in

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  8. Puro Durango🦂🌲

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  9. According to folks i know in Oakland Nemesio has all kind of extended blood family networks out in Cali especially in the bay area and valley .. Modesto, Oakland . A few times I've been to oakland Bay area to visit family we went to house parties carne asada in Oakalnd and them to club's in san francisco Bay area and all the neon signs that the bottle girls raise and shake up and down when u get bottle service they all said either "4 letras" Jalisco" or CJNG that was an interesting observation of mine .

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  10. And the truth just keeps coming out 😂 smfh

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  11. Tiene cara de platano.

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  12. Victor Beltran Garcia was sanctioned as CJNG’s Guadalajara attorney. Interesting that he is representing someone accused of being a CJNG frontman.

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  13. I fucked him in San Diego in a hotel he was so good .

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    Replies
    1. Que ricooooooooooooo t apuesto q cambiaron en seco

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    2. Tambien sicario 006 se la come toda.

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    3. 7:54 he's good enough to be with 10 timez a day 4 ever

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    4. Broly Banderas good enough for me

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  14. 1.2 million dollar house in cali is like a trash can aint no mcmansion for that price come on luxury living

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    1. In the area of Riverside the house was, it is just that, 3,000+ sq. ft. In OC or parts of LA that would be the price for a ranch home or small old house

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    2. @3:54 it’s all about location. 1.2 Million in Riverside is not bad, the closer you get to Los Ángeles the higher they go..

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    3. 3000 square foot is small af its like a good size house 8500square foot barely starts falling in to the mcmansion category

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    4. It’s the area too you need to consider, young one.. pretty luxurious compared to high priced cities.

      A $1.2mil home in San Jose would be on the fucking East side and let’s not even talk about San Francisco… I’m sure where he was had to be a nice quiet community.

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    5. 5:31 1.2 million in Riverside is a pretty regular average home now days, specially being a 2003 built nothing even close to being a mansion more like a regular track house

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  15. He probably trusted the hype (todo esta areglado ) it works in mex but not over here in the usa the american gov is way more rich than all the cartels put together its a no brainer if they went across the world to get osama bin laden these drug boses next door dont stand a chance !!!

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    Replies
    1. Cartels don’t stand a chance against US Special Forces.. come 2025 they’ll be categorized as terrorists and their demise will be swiftly .. will this be the end of drug trafficking ? No .. but it will be the end of cartels as we know them now .. they won’t be able to be as brazen and as “in your face” as they are now, back to the shadows they’ll go

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    2. Im assuming the same way the US beat the taliban or how they won in Vietnam . No it won’t be easy , cartels can attack in the US as well. All it takes is a couple family members of US soldiers an interrogation video and watch how terror spreads. No it won’t be as easy . The us had never had casualties inside the US . A war with cartels can definitely have that to be expected . Cartels don’t play fair . Too much bloodshed for nothing , drugs will continue being provided . Fighting the cartels is a good cause but is it worth losing your family over it ? probably not . That’s how the cartel operates .

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    3. 840 and then you woke up.

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  16. I don't get it . Why do they all fly to uncle Sam.
    Why not go live in europe there they would fly under the radar.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Because they can't leave that stupid narco culture and California is an alucin hub

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    2. Who says they don't go to Europe? Many are already there.

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    3. My thoughts exactly .. I would at least move to a nice small quiet town in Maine or Vermont or some place far away with little to no connection with Mexican organized crime .. forget about California Texas or Arizona not even Colorado

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    4. Apparently not so easy to hide out in the US these days… clearly way easier to just hideout in MX, especially with the resources this guy had… I smell a set-up..

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  17. Who was the Buyer's agent and Escrow company?

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    1. BED / BATH: 5/3,0,1,0
      SQFT(src): 3,806 (A)
      PRICE PER SQFT: $315.29
      LOT(src): 22,216/0.51 (A)
      LEVELS: Two
      GARAGE: 3/Attached
      YEAR BUILT(src): 2003 (BLD)
      PROP SUB TYPE: SFR/D
      DOM / CDOM: 83/83
      SLC: Standard

      CLOSE PRICE: $1,200,000
      LIST PRICE: $1,199,900
      LIST $ ORIGINAL: $1,250,000
      PURCH CONTRACT DATE: 11/08/23
      COE DATE: 11/29/23
      DOM/CDOM: 83/83
      BUYER FINANCING: Cash

      Delete
    2. Great question, I would like to know as well.

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  18. No more Ballin No more!!!!

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  19. Driving around in a luxury car with Mexican plates in California is screaming come lock me up, Im a drug dealer.

    ReplyDelete

  20. CLOSE PRICE: $1,200,000
    LIST PRICE: $1,199,900
    LIST $ ORIGINAL: $1,250,000
    PURCH CONTRACT DATE: 11/08/23
    COE DATE: 11/29/23
    DOM/CDOM: 83/83
    BUYER FINANCING: Cash

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Would love to know the price in lets say… 2003?

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    2. $455,000 in 2009.

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  21. BED / BATH: 5/3,0,1,0
    SQFT(src): 3,806 (A)
    PRICE PER SQFT: $315.29
    LOT(src): 22,216/0.51 (A)
    LEVELS: Two
    GARAGE: 3/Attached
    YEAR BUILT(src): 2003 (BLD)
    PROP SUB TYPE: SFR/D
    DOM / CDOM: 83/83
    SLC: Standard

    ReplyDelete
  22. If you check out illicit investigations x account they show a picture of the house in river side also mentions the business in Perris CA.




    RIP Gilbertona

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    Replies
    1. The business likely related to trafficking..

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  23. eso es lo mas facil.ir al otro lado yo naci y vivo en tijuana..y voy al otro lado cuando quiero,y me regreso a tijuana cuando ya tengo feria..asi de facil

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  24. What an embarrassment a high ranking of one of the richest n biggest cartels n son in law of mencho living in an average home not even close to being a so called mansion, any regular house around that area is over million, maybe in the gavilan hills area but not where he was arrested,they didn't learn anything from El maradona who is living in a mansion in one of the richest neighborhood in the country

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He was hiding, dumbass.

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    2. 4:55 sure he was u stupid ass...he was all hype

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    3. 4:55 STFU he wasn't hiding, his stupidity got to him

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  25. There’s A LOT of guys who have faked their deaths now in MX… with the money and resources it’s apparently quite easy… look at the recent Dutch guy. I believe Cheyo Antrax Imperial is a recent faked death as well….

    ReplyDelete
  26. lol the pic of him and the daughter says it all; too afraid to hold her hand… we can only assume why…

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @4.54. You're reading into things that aren't there. If the photo had been taken half a second later their hands would be intertwined. This is Don Chelos son, not some frightened kid flirting with a bosses daughter.

      Delete
  27. En el Potrero las Cuatro respetan a todos. Pero, no se pasen de lansa.

    ReplyDelete
  28. If u wanna live in a decent house worth being called a mansion then go to the ranches like gavilan hills n perris area or even in the Victoria area in Riverside but there's no TRACK HOUSE worth called mansion

    ReplyDelete

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