Washington Gang Leaders Tied to La Nuestra Familia Get Decades in Prison

Three high-ranking gang members with ties to the violent prison gang La Nuestra Familia have been sentenced in federal court.

Chief U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian sentenced 39-year-old Jacenir DaSilva of Moses Lake to 10 years in prison on firearms charges. Prosecutors say DaSilva led the Pancho Villa Loco gang set, served as Nuestra Familia’s “channel” for Grant County, and even promoted the gang’s radical ideology inside a state juvenile detention facility, nicknamed “Gladiator School.”

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Thirty-five-year-old Jesus Mirelez of Yakima was sentenced to nearly seven years on gun charges. He has prior convictions, including two drive-by shootings in 2022.

And 47-year-old Thomas Weatherwax of Spokane received more than six years for money laundering and drug conspiracy. That sentence will run consecutively to his current 57-year state term for assault. Prosecutors say Weatherwax helped direct Nuestra Familia operations from inside prison, overseeing drug profits and ordering discipline against members.

The case was investigated by the ATF’s Violent Crime Task Force with assistance from the DEA, Homeland Security, the Bureau of Prisons, Yakima Police, and the Department of Corrections.