The "murder squad" case grew to at least 11 defendants across both federal and state courts, with the arrests of two Salinas men. Seven defendants are facing federal racketeering and conspiracy to commit murder charges while three are facing murder and conspiracy charges in Monterey County Superior Court. The "murder squad" formed a caravan of death targeting Sureños — at least two vehicles would serve as lookouts while a third contained the gunmen, according to a federal indictment unsealed in October. The arrests of Ryan Meza, 27, and Joseph Garcia, 25, in mid-February, on suspicion of shooting four people at a house party, killing two of them, added two more defendants to the case. Authorities also believe there may be more homicide victims connected to at least one defendant.