Two Pascua Yaqui Members Sentenced for Drive-By Shooting

TUCSON, AZ—Estevan Miguel Estrella, 20, and Noah Espinoza, 22, both of the Pascua Yaqui Indian Reservation, were sentenced by United States District Court Judge David Bury to 36 months in federal prison for conspiracy to assault with a deadly weapon, assault with a deadly weapon, and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.

On the night of October 2, 2008, and into the early morning hours of October 3, Espinoza was driving a vehicle with Estrella and Cupis as passengers on the Pascua Yaqui Indian Reservation. They drove past a residence with a crowd of people in the front yard. Estrella, the front seat passenger, fired a .22 caliber revolver at the crowd wounding a male victim in the chest. The victim survived the shooting. The vehicle sped away and all three were later arrested. Retaliation was the motive for the shooting. Earlier in the evening, Espinoza and Estrella had driven past the same residence and the crowd of people threw bottles and rocks at their vehicle.

Estrella and Espinoza both pleaded guilty on June 24, 2010. Additionally, Manuel Cupis, 21, also of the Pascua Yaqui Indian Reservation, entered a guilty plea to the same charges on July 12, 2010. Cupis was sentenced by Judge Bury to 18 months in federal prison on October 22, 2010.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the FBI and the Pascua Yaqui Police Department. The prosecution was handled by Raquel Arellano and Serra Tsethlikai, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Tucson.

CASE NUMBER: CR-09-00115-TUC-DCB

RELEASE NUMBER: 2010-262(Estrella et al)