All USAO Press Releases

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Vivian A. Earle, 42, of Phoenix, was sentenced yesterday to 109 months in prison by United States District Judge G. Murray Snow. Earle was convicted on five counts of Bank Robbery by a jury on June 30, 2023.

TUCSON, Ariz. – Jorge Zazueta-Miranda, 51, of Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Rosemary Márquez to 90 months in prison. The sentence is to run consecutive to a previous Illegal Re-Entry of a Removed Alien conviction and sentence from New Mexico. Zazueta-Miranda pleaded guilty to Assault on a Federal Officer with a Dangerous Weapon on June 23, 2023.

TUCSON, Ariz. – On December 14, 2023, a federal grand jury returned a 40-count indictment against Kevin McKenzie, 47, and Corina Martinez, 41, of Tucson. McKenzie and Martinez were charged with Conspiracy to Embezzle from an Indian Tribal Organization; Embezzlement; Theft Concerning Programs Receiving Federal Funds; Wire Fraud; Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud; Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering; and Engaging in Monetary Transactions in Property Derived from Specified Unlawful Activity. McKenzie was also charged with Attempted Tampering with a Witness. 

TUCSON, Ariz. – Clifford Valisto, 63, of Tucson, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge John C. Hinderaker to 60 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Valisto pleaded guilty to Transportation of Illegal Aliens for Profit on October 2, 2023. Valisto also was sentenced to 12 months in prison to run concurrently for violating conditions of his federal supervised release from a prior alien smuggling conviction.

PHOENIX, Ariz. – On Tuesday, a federal grand jury in Phoenix returned a 50-count indictment against Jeremie Sowerby, 45, of Fountain Hills, for wire fraud and transactional money laundering.

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Michael Lee Tomasi, 37, of Rio Verde, Arizona, was arrested on Friday after a grand jury indicted him on three counts of Threat Against a Federal Official and three counts of making Interstate Threats.

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Victor Alfonso Apodaca Aguilar, 22, of Mexico, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Douglas L. Rayes to 12 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

TUCSON, Ariz. – On November 29, 2023, a federal grand jury in Tucson returned an 11-count indictment against Jorge Damian Roman-Figueroa, Luis Eduardo Roman-Flores, Manuel Jose Bernal, Joel Salazar-Ballesteros, and Jesus Armando Gonzalez-Villela, citizens of Mexico, for Conspiracy to Transport Aliens; Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments; Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana, Methamphetamine, Fentanyl, and Cocaine; Distribution of  Marijuana, Methamphetamine, Fentanyl, and Cocaine; and Brandishing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.

TUCSON, Ariz. – Pilar Angel Leon-Beltran, 44, of Sinaloa, Mexico, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Jennifer G. Zipps to 144 months in prison. Leon-Beltran pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime on March 22, 2023. Leon-Beltran also admitted to being in violation of a condition of his supervised release from a previous federal conviction.

TUCSON, Ariz. – Jeremy Espuma, 31, of Sells, was sentenced Monday by United States District Judge Scott H. Rash to 248 months in prison for child exploitation offenses. Espuma, a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation, pleaded guilty to Child Exploitation by way of Production of Child Pornography on March 22, 2023. Upon release from prison, Espuma will be placed on lifetime supervised release with sex offender conditions and will be required to register as a sex offender.

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Nathan Hernandez, 20, of Yuma, pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl last week. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 25, 2024, before United States District Judge Michael T. Liburdi.

TUCSON, Ariz. – Adbiel Martinez-Barrera, 21, of Guerrero, Mexico, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Scott H. Rash to 13 months and 1 day in prison. Martinez-Barrera pleaded guilty to Assault of a Federal Officer and Improper Entry by an Alien on September 6, 2023.