PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Jonathan V. Peterson, a 41-year-old Arizona inmate and prison gang member, has been sentenced to over four additional decades in prison for orchestrating a murder while already serving time for previous gang-related crimes.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced Wednesday that Peterson received 42 years and nine months for his role in the 2017 execution of law enforcement informant Juan Raygoza. The murder was arranged using a smuggled cell phone from inside prison.
At the time of the murder, Peterson was already serving a 24-year sentence. Authorities say he coordinated with accomplices on the outside to lure Raygoza to a specific location, where he was killed in what was described as an “execution-style” slaying.
“This defendant murdered an individual for cooperating with law enforcement—an act that was meant to intimidate and silence others,” said Mitchell. “This conviction sends a clear message—we will track them down and hold them accountable, no matter where they are.”
Investigators later found that the violence extended beyond Raygoza’s murder. Two of Peterson’s accomplices were themselves executed in the aftermath, and another was nearly killed in an attempted murder.
As part of a plea agreement, Peterson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and participating in a criminal street gang, both felonies. He received 25 years for the murder and 17 years and nine months for gang activity, to be served consecutively. His new sentence begins after his current term ends in 2029.
A separate charge of first-degree murder remains pending.
The Chandler Police Department led a multi-agency investigation into the prison gang linked to multiple serious crimes in the Valley, including drug trafficking, armed robbery, and extortion. Agencies involved included the FBI, Phoenix, Mesa, Glendale, and Surprise police departments, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry.
The status of other suspects or related cases has not yet been disclosed.
