GILA RIVER MAN SENTENCED TO OVER SIX YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR SELLING CRACK COCAINE

PHOENIX – Joseph Kelly Molina, 35, of Sacaton, Arizona, and a member of the Gila River Indian Tribe, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell to 78 months in federal prison on January 9, 2012. On August 8, 2011, Molina pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with the Intent to Distribute 28 Grams or More of Cocaine Base.

Between December 2007 and May 2009, during an undercover investigation on the Gila River Indian Reservation, Molina and his co-defendant, Darin James Kisto, conspired to sell, and did sell, cocaine base, to an undercover officer on multiple occasions. The sale of crack cocaine by Molina and Kisto took place at their residences which are both located on the Gila River Indian Reservation.  Kisto was sentenced on October 24, 2011, to 87 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with the Intent to Distribute 28 Grams or More of Cocaine Base.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the Gila River Police Department and the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.  The prosecution was handled by Christina J. Reid-Moore, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

CASE NUMBER:           CR-10-0540-PHX-DGC
RELEASE NUMBER:   2012-004(Molina)

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