Contributed Article/Courtesy San Carlos Apache Tribe
San Carlos Apache Reservation — A Bylas man has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison on drug charges related to a series of incidents in early 2025 that left two men dead.
Eric Rope Jr., 41, was sentenced Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, by U.S. District Court Judge Steven P. Logan after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The San Carlos Apache Police (“SCPD”) worked with the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs Drug Enforcement Unit in the investigation.
“Let this sentence serve as a warning to anyone who brings or sells illegal drugs in our community: You will be identified, you will be arrested, and you will be held accountable,” said SCAPD Chief of Police Elliot Sneezy.
The Tribe’s Department of Justice Criminal Division collaborated with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Phoenix in the prosecution.
“This case demonstrates what can be accomplished when the Tribe and federal prosecutors work closely together to obtain a guilty plea from an extremely dangerous person who now must serve a lengthy prison sentence,” said the Tribe’s Chief Prosecutor Charlene Laplante.
San Carlos Apache Tribe Chairman Terry Rambler said the Tribe will continue to closely coordinate with federal law enforcement and prosecutors to combat drug-related violence and overdoses on the Reservation.
“We will continue to do everything we can to protect our Tribe from the tragic outcomes that ultimately result from drug abuse and reckless violence,” he said. “On behalf of the San Carlos Council, I thank the SCAPD, BIA, and prosecutors whose exemplary work removed a dangerous person from our Reservation.”
On Feb. 21, 2025, SCAPD responded to an aggravated assault involving a victim who suffered significant injuries. During the investigation, officers recovered methamphetamine from Rope’s residence and a weapon used in the assault from the bed of Rope’s truck. Rope was arrested and charged but posted a cash bond and was released.
One week later, on Feb. 28, 2025, Rope contacted law enforcement to report multiple unresponsive individuals at a residence. Officers arrived to find four men in medical distress from drug overdoses, two of whom ultimately died. Investigators determined that Rope supplied drugs, including methamphetamine, to those individuals earlier that evening.
The overdose deaths, however, could not be conclusively attributed to Rope’s drug distribution. But the incident was part of his conduct considered at sentencing. SCAPD arrested Rope on March 19, 2025, as he was driving from Phoenix across the Reservation. Rope briefly fled police before stopping in a remote area where his passenger ran into the desert carrying Rope’s backpack.
SCAPD Officers recovered the backpack, which contained more than 369 grams of methamphetamine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and a pistol with an obliterated serial number. Law enforcement also recovered a second firearm from Rope’s vehicle. Law enforcement later transferred Rope to federal custody.
