A former Maricopa County deputy public defender, Sally Joyce Nyemba, was sentenced this week to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to Attempted Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine on August 31, 2023.
The 33-year-old Nyemba was a practicing attorney when on May 11 and 12, 2020, she negotiated the purchase of two pounds of methamphetamine for $3,600 and 4,000 M30 pills for $10,000 from an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent.
On May 12, 2020, Nyemba met with the undercover DEA agent in Phoenix, and was arrested after she provided the agent $3,600 for the drugs.
Agents searched Nyemba’s vehicle and seized approximately $14,158 in U.S. currency.
Nyemba left the Public Defender’s Office in 2019.