Gila River Indian Community Member Sentenced for Murder

     PHOENIX, Ariz. – Last week, Royce Allen Young, 38, of Laveen, Ariz., a member of the Gila River Indian Community, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow to 15 years in federal prison.  Young had previously pleaded guilty to second degree murder. 

      On Aug. 10, 2012, Daniel Ballesteros, 24, who was also a member of the Gila River Indian Community was found lying dead in an intersection on the Gila River Indian Community. Ballesteros had died after sustaining three gunshot wounds.  A spent shotgun shell and a kitchen knife were found at the scene, though the victim had not been stabbed. Young was located in Phoenix about an hour after the victim was found. He had a shotgun in his car.  At sentencing, Judge Snow ordered that the 15 years run consecutive to a state sentence of imprisonment that Young is currently serving for another matter. 

     The investigation in this case was conducted by the Gila River Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The prosecution was handled by Gayle L. Helart and Bill C. Solomon, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

CASE NUMBER:           2:14-cr-1539-GMS-1      

RELEASE NUMBER:   2016-030_Young

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