Arizona Meth Kingpin Prince Gets 14 Years

A 41-year-old Arizona drug dealer has been slammed with a 14-year federal prison sentence for flooding southern Illinois with crystal methamphetamine just months after serving time for identity theft and Aggravated DUI. Kristin P. Prince, of Mesa, Arizona, was sentenced to 168 months in U.S. District Court in East St. Louis for distributing meth across state lines through the U.S. Postal Service.

Prince was also fined $300 and ordered to pay $200 in special assessments. Upon completion of his federal prison term, he will face an additional five years of court-ordered supervised release. The sentence marks a swift reckoning for a man who showed no hesitation in exploiting postal channels to fuel addiction in communities already reeling from the opioid and meth crisis.

Court documents reveal Prince began shipping large quantities of meth to the Metro East region in January and February 2021—mere months after being released from Arizona state prison. At the time of the drug shipments, he was still under state supervision for prior felony convictions, including identity theft and felony Aggravated DUI, making his relapse into criminal enterprise all the more brazen.

“This sentence demonstrates the severity of consequences for out-of-state individuals who infect our communities with methamphetamines,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “I applaud the efforts by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to disrupt the illegal chain of drug distribution into southern Illinois.”

Assistant Special Agent in Charge Sean Vickers of the DEA’s southern Illinois division called methamphetamine “the scourge of the Midwest.” He emphasized that Prince repeatedly chose profit over public safety. “Prince has proven he’ll take any action to make money off his illegal drug organization. It’s appropriate that federal authorities are matching that behavior with action that will keep this drug dealer behind bars for years,” Vickers said.

Prince was indicted by a federal grand jury on December 14, 2021, on two counts of distribution of a controlled substance. He pleaded guilty on August 29, 2022. The investigation was conducted jointly by the DEA and U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with Assistant U.S. Attorney John Trippi handling prosecution. Authorities say the case underscores the growing use of mail networks by out-of-state traffickers—and the federal response needed to dismantle them.