ONE COLORADO RIVER INDIAN TRIBES METHAMPHETAMINE TRAFFICKER SENTENCED; ANOTHER PLEADS GUILTY

PHOENIX – On Oct. 15, 2012, Rhesa Briann Cuadras, 33, of Big River, Calif., was sentenced by United States District Judge Susan R. Bolton to 60 months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Cuadras pleaded guilty on July 12, 2012, to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. On October 16, 2012, Monica Lee Gonzales, 40, of Parker, Ariz., pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

According to court documents, both Cuadras and Gonzales sold methamphetamine in or near Parker, Ariz., between May and Nov. 2010.

Gonzales is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Frederick J. Martone on Jan. 7, 2013.

A conviction for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine carries a minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison, a $2,000,000 fine, or both.

The investigations of these two cases were conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the La Paz County Sheriff’s Office, and the Colorado River Indian Tribes Police Department. The prosecutions are being handled by James Morse Jr., Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix, and W. Scott Julian, a Deputy Attorney General for the Colorado River Indian Tribes who has been designated as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona.

CASE NUMBER:            CR-12-0260-PHX-SRB; CR-12-0261-PHX-FJM
RELEASE NUMBER:     2012-214(Cuadras_&_Gonzales)

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/