Bylas man sentenced to more than 24 years for second-degree murder

Sandra Day O’Connor U.S. Courthouse, Phoenix

By Jon Johnson

jonjohnsonnews@gmail.com

PHOENIX – Marvin Tona, 48, of Bylas, was sentenced on Dec. 19, 2022, to 293 months (24.4 years) in prison by United States District Judge Steven P. Logan. 

Tona previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder stemming from an incident that occurred on Sept. 5, 2021, while on the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Bylas, according to a release from the United States Attorney’s Office District of Arizona. 

Tona argued with the victim – a former friend – at a residence in Bylas and then shot into a bedroom, striking and killing the victim, who was listed as R.R. in court documents and born in 1985. Both Tona and the victim were members of the San Carlos Apache Tribe. 

According to the release, agents from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and officers of the San Carlos Apache Police Department conducted the investigation, while Assistant United States Attorney Thomas C. Simon, District of Arizona, handled the prosecution.