United States v. Kevin Tidwell

── United States v. Kevin Tidwell ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Date: April 15, 2026 Category: General NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 26a0168n.06 Case Nos. 24-5610/5626/5641 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED Apr 15, 2026 ) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, KELLY L. STEPHENS, Clerk ) Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) ON APPEAL FROM THE v. ) UNITED STATES DISTRICT ) COURT FOR THE MIDDLE JORGE FLORES (24-5610); KEVIN TIDWELL ) DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE (24-5626); JOSE PINEDA-CACERES, aka Jose ) Pineda-Caceras (24-5641), ) Defendants-Appellants. ) ) OPINION ) Before: COLE, MATHIS, and HERMANDORFER, Circuit Judges. COLE, Circuit Judge. The government criminally charged nine defendants, including Jorge Flores, Kevin Tidwell, and Jose Pineda-Caceres, for their involvement in gang-related activity. After an 18-day joint trial, the jury convicted the three defendants at issue here. The district court sentenced Flores to life imprisonment, plus 65 years; Tidwell to life imprisonment, plus 30 years; and Pineda-Caceres to 50 years’ imprisonment. On appeal, defendants challenge their convictions. We affirm the district court on all grounds. I. La Mara Salvatrucha, known as MS-13, is a transnational criminal gang structured as a network of smaller units that operate semi-independently in different geographic locations. Flores joined MS-13 through the Nashville-based Thompson Place Locos Salvatrucha (TPLS) group in 2008. Tidwell joined MS-13 and TPLS in 2017. Pineda-Caceres has been affiliated with MS-13 Case Nos. 24-5610/5626/5641, United States v. Jorge Flores, et al. since childhood and became a TPLS member in 2016. Between 2014 and 2021, the three defendants attempted and committed multiple crimes. Relevant to this appeal, in February 2017, Flores and other MS-13 members conspired to kill Hector Venturas, who had dissociated from the gang, as well as two rival drug dealers. Following an active shootout, Venturas and the two dealers escaped. In May 2017, Flores and Tidwell followed Ammerli Garcia-Munoz, a purported rival gang member, into a nightclub parking lot, where they killed him. Six days later, Flores and Tidwell killed Jesus Alberto Flores and attempted to shoot Luis Rosero. In September 2017, Flores and another MS-13 member decided to kill Arling Laines, who they believed was “playing both sides” with MS-13 and a rival gang. (Trial Tr. Vol. 14, R. 611, PageID 5402.) They brought Laines to an isolated area and fatally shot him. In July 2021, a grand jury indicted Flores, Tidwell, Pineda-Caceres, and others in a 60- count second superseding indictment. The three defendants, alongside another co-defendant not included in this appeal, proceeded to a joint jury trial in April 2023. At the close of trial, the jury convicted the defendants of multiple charges, including conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity on behalf of MS-13, in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d). Relatedly, the defendants were also convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in a