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The Plot: How the Hit Was Ordered—and Nearly Carried Out

The criminal complaint, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, paints a harrowing picture. Manuel “Snuffy” Quintero, a longtime Paramount Varrio gang member and reputed Mexican Mafia shot-caller, allegedly ordered the murder of Nelson Abrego, aka Swifty Blue, in 2022.

The motive? Legal analyst say Swifty’s bravado—and his side-hustle charging check-in fees—may have sparked resentment at the top. The Mafia hierarchy may have decided to make an example out of the upstart rapper. “Smutting up” (maligning) Swifty may have become the justification for the most severe punishment in gangland: a sanctioned hit.

Giuseppe “Clever” Leyva—another high-ranking player—fanned the flames. On New Year’s Eve 2022, he told an informant that orders had gone out to gang sets in Paramount, Compton, and downtown L.A.: attack Swifty “on sight.”The hit was to be executed “with prejudice” —prison code for ‘no coming back’ - final judgement.

• In legal terms with Prejudice, is when a case is dismissed "with prejudice," meaning the dismissal is final, and the plaintiff cannot refile or come back on the same claim in the future.
• A dismissal "without prejudice" means the plaintiff can refile the same claim later, as the dismissal doesn’t resolve the case’s merits.

According to the complaint, after bringing up “Swifty Blue” during a recent conversation, Quevedo allegedly asked Jacob “Eagle” David if he remembered a “raza rapper” who was “in the shower.” According to prosecutors, this was a veiled reference to Jaime Brugada Valdez, better known as MoneySign Suede, who was fatally stabbed in the showers at Soledad’s Correctional Training Facility in 2023.

David, who was serving time for carjacking and robbery, allegedly replied, “The end result should be the same.” The following day, the complaint states, David instructed Quevedo to tell the would-be attackers, “Handle that with prejudice… You know how that’s like a court term? Well, this [is] with prejudice.”

Quevedo allegedly responded by assuring David that the plan was “already in motion.”

The Web: Social Media, Jail Calls, and Family Ties - The First Attempt on Swifty’s Life

What sets this case apart is its sheer complexity. Far from an isolated brawl, this conspiracy stretched from jailhouse TikTok messages to coded phone calls between inmates, 66-year-old mothers, and associates across Southern California.

A chilling series of intercepted calls revealed the machinery of the plot: