Sacaton, Arizona Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Second Degree Murder

PHOENIX, AZ—Merlin Enos, 36, of Sacaton, Ariz., was sentenced on June 1, 2009, to 30 years in federal prison by U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell. Enos pleaded guilty on March 17, 2009, to Second Degree Murder and Use of a Firearm in a Crime of Violence for killing a man from the Gila River Indian Reservation in July 2006.

Enos had been selling drugs on the Gila River Indian Reservation. The victim allegedly sold drugs for Enos and attempted to steal some of his marijuana. In July 2006, Enos and the victim were in a remote area of the reservation, getting high on methamphetamine when Enos shot and killed the victim. The victim’s body was found about a week later with gunshot wounds to the head, chest, lower-back and legs.

The case went unsolved for nearly two years. While police suspected Enos, there were no witnesses to the shooting. Enos, in state custody for a different crime, eventually admitted that he shot the victim.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the Gila River Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution was handled by Sharon Sexton, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

CASE NUMBER: CR-08-1250-PHX-DGC

RELEASE NUMBER: 2009-178(Enos)