"They even ordered the death of a man and then, on our streets, murdered him," said Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen.
According to the indictments, the gang members even robbed six San Jose banks, threatening tellers with guns and fake bombs. This was the largest gang enforcement operation ever in Santa Clara County and one of the biggest in California.
They call themselves Nuestra Familia, or Our family. Some were already in prison for other crimes. Others were arrested in a big police sweep.
The massive indictments follow a similar multi-agency operation last year in Gilroy. The city, at the time had been overwhelmed by gang violence.
"We put away approximately 36 gang members and so for the year following that, we had virtually no crime related to gangs," Gilroy Police Chief Denise Turner.
Santa Clara County law enforcement agencies hope this latest operation will have the same effect.
Some of those indicted are three strike felons and many of the charges carry long prison sentences of 25 years or more.
