Five Joaquins Gang

The Five Joaquins (1850–1853) were an outlaw gang which the State of California said was led by:
Between 1850 and 1853, the gang, joined by Murrieta's right-hand man, Three Fingered Jack, were reported to have been responsible for most of the horse theft, robberies, and murders committed in the Mother Lode area of the Sierra Nevadas. They are credited with stealing more than $100,000 in gold and over 100 horses, killing at least 19 people, and having outrun three posses and killed three lawmen. The gang is believed to have killed up to 28 Chinese and 13 Whites.
On May 11, 1853, Governor of California John Bigler signed a legislative act creating the "California State Rangers," led by Captain Harry Love (a former Texas Ranger). Their mission was to capture the "Five Joaquins," named above. The California Rangers were paid $150 a month and stood a chance to share a $5000 reward for the capture of Joaquin Murrieta.
On July 25, 1853, a group of Rangers, led by Captain Love, encountered a band of armed Mexican men near Panoche Pass in San Benito County, 50 miles from Monterey. A confrontation took place, and two of the Mexicans were killed. One was claimed to be Murrieta, and the other was thought to be Three-Fingered Jack. A plaque (California Historical Landmark #344) near the intersection of State Routes 33 and 198 now marks the approximate site of Murrieta's headquarters in Arroyo de Cantua, where he was presumably and officially ruled by the State of California to have been killed. However that claim was soon disputed and has continued to be. However the result of that skirmish was that the gang was broken up, and its activities ended. Some of the members returned to Sonora, although many of the gang's members remained in California, some continuing their criminal carriers, many others became vaqueros on California ranches or followed other walks of life.
Members.
Of the Joaquins named by the bill of the California state legislature, three were actual leaders in the gang, two others were only members. 