A 36-year-old Tucson man has been sentenced to 87 months in federal prison for voluntary manslaughter after a fight outside a home on the Pascua Yaqui Reservation left another man dead from a head injury. Santiago Luis Valencia Jr. and the victim had been drinking together on June 15, 2024, when a physical altercation broke out that officials say began when the victim started the fight, before ending with fatal consequences on Tucson's southwest side.
The sentence was reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona, which prosecuted the case out of its Tucson office. According to KVOA, both Valencia and the victim were enrolled members of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, and the victim died the day after sustaining the head injury. The station's report also notes that the FBI Phoenix Division's Tucson office worked alongside the Pascua Yaqui Police Department on the investigation.
Charging documents and witness accounts described a far more violent scene than a simple scuffle. According to the Arizona Daily Star, Valencia repeatedly slammed the victim's head against a concrete windowsill outside a residence on South Camino De Oeste after the two had been drinking. Court records cited by the same newspaper identified the victim in filings only as R.V., and noted he had a known pre-existing head injury stemming from an aneurysm — a vulnerability family members were reportedly aware of before the fatal fight.
From Murder Charge to Manslaughter Plea
Valencia's case did not begin as a manslaughter matter. A federal grand jury originally indicted him in July 2024 on a charge of second-degree murder, which carries a statutory maximum penalty of life imprisonment, per the U.S. Attorney's Office. He ultimately pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter instead.
Under federal law, 18 U.S.C. § 1112, voluntary manslaughter carries a statutory maximum of 15 years in federal prison, meaning Valencia's 87-month sentence lands at roughly half of that upper limit, according to a report from Every CRS Report. The prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathaniel J. Walters and Caroline Allen of the Tucson office, and Valencia was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Jennifer G. Zipps, who has served on the federal bench in Tucson since 2011 and became Chief Judge for the District of Arizona in October 2024, according to the State Bar of Arizona.
Why the Case Landed in Federal Court
The fight took place on the Pascua Yaqui Reservation, which is why the case was handled in federal court rather than Pima County Superior Court. Federal jurisdiction was established under the Major Crimes Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1153, a statute that grants federal courts exclusive jurisdiction over major violent offenses — including murder and manslaughter — committed by Native Americans against other Native Americans in Indian Country, per the U.S. Department of Justice.
Federal court docket records show Valencia was arrested the day of the assault and remained in federal custody throughout the proceedings, under case number CR-24-04265-TUC-JGZ, until his sentencing this week.
The Reservation Community
The Pascua Yaqui Reservation spans roughly 2,200 acres southwest of Tucson and is home to several thousand residents among more than 23,000 enrolled tribal members, according to official tribal documents. The tribe gained federal recognition on September 18, 1978, following decades of Yaqui settlement in southern Arizona after displacement from Mexico in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, per background compiled by Wikipedia.
-4.webp?w=160&h=400&fit=crop&crop=edges)