Tucson woman gets 14.5 years for ‘criminal enterprise’ that AG says involved drugs, guns & fake land mines

A Tucson woman was sentenced to nearly 15 years in prison for her involvement in plan to sell various illegal drugs, firearms and fake “Bouncing Betty” landmines last year.

Christina Eileen Gonzalez, 44, pleaded guilty in April to two class 3 felonies — illegally conducting an enterprise and attempted transportation of a narcotic drug — plus attempted money laundering, a class 5 felony.

She had faced 51 counts of various felony charges related to selling or attempting to sell drugs and weapons and laundering money. She was arrested last year for her activities in August, while she was already on probation for a 2024 drug conviction.

Gonzalez was sentenced Monday by Pima County Superior Court Judge Brenden Griffin to 14.5 years in prison.

She had been indicted on charges that included involvement in dealing meth, cocaine, psilocybin, Adderall, fentanyl, Xanax and suboxone strips; selling a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun and a 9mm Smith & Wesson M&P pistol to a prohibited possessor (who happened to be an undercover officer); soliciting a burglary (again involving the undercover officer), possessing a Sig Sauer P938 9mm handgun, .357 revolver, and AR-15 rifle while committing a felony, trafficking in stolen cowboy boots, and attempting to sell fake “Bouncing Betty” landmines.

The latter were made to appear as if they were Bouncing Betty mines, but were later determined not to have live explosives charges, a spokesperson for the Arizona Attorney General’s Office said. “They were actually another piece of military equipment. However, the defendant represented they were real landmines, and sold them as such,” he told the Sentinel.

Despite the long list of charges, authorities only charged her with being involved in drug transactions that amounted to about $9,700 — in deals as small as $40, but more commonly $1,200 of cocaine at a time.

Most of the charges were dismissed as part of the plea deal, signed last month.

“Arizonans deserve to be safe in their communities and my office will not tolerate criminal enterprises that flood our streets with deadly drugs and weapons,” said Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a news release.

When law enforcement searched her home, prosecutors said, they found fentanyl, cocaine, meth and several firearms there.

A county grand jury indicted Gonzalez and three men with 59 counts stemming from the conspiracy, with Gonzalez implicated in 51 of them.

The indictment also named John Edward Grijalva, 56; Roger Emilio Ponciano-Lopez, 26; and Eddie Ramon Acedo, 50.

On Thursday, Gonzalez began serving her sentence at the Arizona State Prison Complex –– Perryville in Goodyear. She will be eligible for parole in November 2037.

Richie Taylor, the lead spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office, declined to respond to further questions about the crimes Gonzalez was indicted for and pleaded guilty to, as the cases against her three co-defendants were still pending.