‘La Chely’ sentenced to 50 years in prison for killing man in Juárez

Update (2:42 PM): The FBI El Paso Field Office says that Michelle Angélica Pineda, also known as "La Chely," was sentenced alongside her group of "Artistas Assessino" sicarios.

The FBI identifies Pineda's victim as Mexican national Jorge Rentería Rodríguez, 23.

"Members of the FBI Safe Streets Gang Task Force, El Paso Police Department’s Gang Unit, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Division, and U.S. Border Patrol learned through an active investigation that Pineda had entered the U.S. illegally and was operating a drug trafficking ring on behalf of the 'Artistas Assessino' gang located in Mexico," an FBI El Paso Field Office spokesperson explained.

When they arrested, the FBI says they found several firearms, machetes, fentanyl pills, powdered fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, Xanax, and methamphetamine in the hotel room she was in. After her arrest, officials handed Pineda over to Mexican officials for prosecution.

CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Chihuahua (KVIA) -- Prosecutors in Chihuahua say they obtained a 50-year prison sentence for Michelle Angélica Pineda, also known as "La Chely." Pineda was arrested at an El Paso motel on multiple homicide charges in February 2024.

"Pineda was known for her extreme brutality such as dismembering bodies, removing hearts, and placing the hearts in front of 'Santa Muerte' altars and statutes," the FBI El Paso Office said at the time of Pineda's arrest.

Now, Mexican prosecutors say that Pineda, along with four other defendants, identified only as Jorge G. M., Joana Michelle A. G., Jaqueline S. B., and Félix Iván L. C., have all been sentenced to prison.

The group was found responsible for the death of Jorge R. R. on December 5, 2023. Prosecutors say that Jorge R. R. was killed in a house in the Hacienda de las Torres neighborhood of Ciudad Juárez. Prosecutors say the group used a bladed weapon to slit Jorge R. R.'s throat and to mutilate his body. Prosecutors say they then moved his body inside some bags to the intersection of Libramiento Regional and Hacienda el Remanso in the Mezquital neighborhood.

The group will serve their sentences at the Centro de Reinserción Social de Ciudad Juárez. They were also ordered to pay 1,562,050 pesos in restitution for damages, according to Chihuahua prosecutors.