Couple, 11 others charged with drug trafficking in Weber County Jail

OGDEN, Utah – OGDEN, Utah – A couple and several other suspects were booked into the Weber County Jail this week for their alleged roles in drug smuggling and trafficking.

According to court documents, the ringleader of the operation was 42-year-old Isak Jo Tatsu Archuleta, who already faced multiple charges as an inmate in federal court and in Davis County.

Prosecutors said Archuleta's wife, 39-year-old Antonia Monique Salonis-Archuleta, played a role in obtaining drugs and smuggling them into prison, as well as helping with money transfers related to drug purchases.

Investigators identified those involved by listening to recorded prison phone conversations from April to July. Most of the telephone conversations described in the charging documents were between Archuleta and Salonis-Archuleta. Several others were between Salonis-Archuleta and one of the co-defendants, 29-year-old Charles Corwin Keller.

Court documents say Archuleta “managed, directed and controlled” the 12 co-defendants (including Salonis-Archuleta and Keller) in the drug smuggling and distribution scheme. According to the charges, the drug they primarily trafficked was suboxone.

Investigators said they had Salonis-Archuleta under surveillance one day and followed her to a “drop site,” where they later checked and found a hidden stash of Suboxone.

In total, Archuleta and Salonis-Archuleta were each charged with 11 counts of distribution of a controlled substance and one count of money laundering.

The other defendants named in the indictment are: 44-year-old Latroy Taylor, 35-year-old Louis Mikel Visciotti, 49-year-old Justin James H. Brown, 31-year-old Selina Fernandez, 41-year-old Leo Alejandre, 38-year-old year-old Ryan Mario Valencia, 32-year-old Spencer D. Massengale, 39-year-old Amy Lynne Hachmeister, 40-year-old Anthony Keith Manchester and 29-year-old Brakken J. Heslop.

Most of the 13 defendants were either in prison, on bail or on probation when they carried out their alleged roles in the drug crime.