OKLAHOMA CITY – A member of the Southside Locos gang serving an 18-year state prison term was sentenced to an additional 250 months in federal prison for his involvement in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy.
A federal grand jury returned an 81-count indictment on December 4, 2019, that charged more than three dozen co-defendants, including Kevin Mark Vigil Jr., with crimes related to a large-scale drug trafficking operation orchestrated from an Oklahoma prison. According to the indictment, the operation focused primarily on distribution of methamphetamine and heroin using contraband cell phones from prison.
As reported in Southwest Ledger on January 14, the narcotics distribution ring was directed by a convicted murderer and was broken up by federal, state and local law enforcement officials.
From 2018 to 2019, Vigil and other imprisoned Southside Locos gang members used non-incarcerated gang members and associates to facilitate the distribution of drugs, to collect drug-related proceeds, and to traffic firearms throughout Oklahoma, Western District U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Downing related.
It marked the sixth time in 10 months that individuals implicated in a major drug ring that was operated from Oklahoma’s prison system were indicted or sentenced in federal courts in Oklahoma.
Vigil, 29, of Moore and Oklahoma City, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Two other counts in the indictment were dismissed pursuant to Vigil’s guilty plea.
According to court documents and public documents, Vigil, alias “Travieso Loko,” is a member of the Southside Locos prison gang and has a record of violent crimes.
SHOT A MAN IN OKC
He pleaded guilty in Oklahoma County District Court on February 25, 2011, to four felony charges. Two charges of shooting a man in Oklahoma City in 2010 with intent to kill were reduced to assault and battery with a deadly weapon. Vigil also was charged with second-degree burglary and with unlawful possession of a firearm.
He was sentenced to a combined total of 18 years in state prison – Vigil must serve 85%, at least 15 years, on one of the A&BwDW convictions – to run concurrently with sentences imposed in another case filed against him in 2010.
In that case Vigil was named in five felony charges: possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of a controlled dangerous substance in the presence of a child under the age of 12, use of a surveillance camera while in commission of a felony, maintaining a dwelling where a controlled dangerous substance was kept, and possession of steroids.
Vigil pleaded guilty to all five charges on February 25, 2011, and was sentenced to a total of 10 years’ imprisonment, to run concurrently with the other Oklahoma County case.
20-YEAR FEDERAL TERM TACKED ON
Senior U.S. District Judge Stephen P. Friot sentenced Vigil to serve 250 months (20 years and 10 months) in federal prison beginning after Vigil completes his time in state prison, which is currently scheduled to end in March 2026. Judge Friot also ordered Vigil to submit to 25 years of supervised release after he completes his federal prison sentence, which reportedly will span at least 17-2/3 years.
During the sentencing hearing, Friot noted Vigil’s role in the gang organization and his continued propensity to engage in criminal activity despite incarceration.
The federal case resulted from a nearly two-year investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Oklahoma City Field Division, the Oklahoma City Police Department, and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections— Security Threats Intelligence.
The investigation ultimately led to the federal indictments of at least 41 defendants. Thirty-five defendants have pleaded guilty, five defendants are awaiting trial or plea hearings, and charges against one individual were dismissed, court records reflect.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason Harley and David McCrary prosecuted the case.
CAREER IN CRIME STARTED AS A TEEN
Besides his convictions in Oklahoma County, Vigil also has multiple convictions in Cleveland County.
His criminal career began when he was 17, court records indicate. In late 2008 he was charged in Cleveland County with first-degree burglary and three counts of robbery with a firearm. He pleaded guilty in March 2009 and was sentenced to an unspecified term of out-of-home placement with the Office of Juvenile Affairs as a youthful offender.
Less than two years later he was arrested in Moore on two counts of concealing stolen property on December 31, 2010.
That was followed by his arrest in Norman on January 4, 2011, for stealing merchandise from a retailer “in concert with” two juvenile males. Also in 2011 Vigil was arrested by Norman police on three felony charges, including knowingly concealing stolen property and larceny of merchandise from a retailer “in concert with” a juvenile male on August 21, 2010.
On January 4, 2012, while in the custody of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Vigil pleaded guilty to the charges arising from the crimes he committed in Moore and in Norman. He was sentenced to a total of five years in prison, to run in tandem with the Oklahoma County sentences, plus $985 in court costs, fees and assessments.