A known leader of the 18th Street Gang in Portland, Noah Herrera, 26, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison on Friday, May 9.

Officials said Herrera was sentenced for his leadership role in a local drug trafficking conspiracy, and he had a weapon while in federal prison.

He faces a 144-month sentence, or a 12-year sentence, in federal prison, and five years of supervised release.

Herrera was a second-in-command leader of the 18th Street Gang in Portland, according to court documents, working with Gustavo Torres-Mendez, who was sentenced to just over 13 and a half years in federal prison in May 2024.

The two men led gang-related activities, including trafficking large amounts of methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl in the Portland area, according to a news release. The 18th Street Gang was heavily armed and sold drugs obtained near the Mexico border in California to sell in and around Portland.

An investigation by the federal government revealed multiple episodes of the gang’s activities:

• In August 2022, agents seized about nine pounds of methamphetamine after Herrera organized a transaction in Portland.
• In early September 2022, federal agents monitored Herrera and Torres-Mendez, finding the 18th Street Gang members had collected more than $126,000 in cash after two members were sent to California to pick up drugs. The package was recovered near Grants Pass, where more than 104 pounds of methamphetamine and a smaller quantity of cocaine was found.
• On Nov. 17, 2022, Herrera was arrested at his Vancouver, Washington, home, where agents found two loaded pistols, ammunition, drugs, scales, a drug ledger, more than $5,000 in cash and several cell phones.
• A residence in North Portland used by the gang revealed ten handguns, a short-barreled shotgun, extended magazines, ammunition, body armor and drug paraphernalia.
• On Sept. 25, 2023, prison guards found Herrera in possession of a shiv while he was pending trial.
• On Jan. 10, Herrera pled guilty to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine, and possessing a weapon in a federal facility.