District of New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE – Anthony Herrera, 23, of Artesia, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning in Las Cruces federal court to firearms charges under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. 

Herrera was arrested in July 2013, based on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and was indicted in Oct. 2013 on that same charge and for unlawfully possessing an unregistered short-barreled shotgun on April 10, 2012 .  At the time, Herrera was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of a felony offense of criminal solicitation.

Court filings reflect that the investigation leading to the charge against Herrera arose out of a drive-by shooting incident on Aug. 5, 2012.  On that day, Eddy County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call regarding a drive by shooting during which numerous shots were fired at a residence and a vehicle.  After Herrera was identified as the individual who fired the shots by witnesses, Eddy County Sheriff’s deputies executed a search warrant at his home on Aug. 10, 2012, at Herrera’s residence and found a .45 Caliber, semi-automatic pistol and ammunition.  They also located a .12 gauge short-barreled shotgun and ammunition inside of Herrera’s truck.

During today’s proceedings, Herrera pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that he unlawfully possessed firearms, including an unregistered short-barreled shotgun, and ammunition in Aug. 2012. 

Herrera has been in custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.  At his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled, Herrera faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison.

            This case was investigated by the Roswell office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Artesia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

ALBUQUERQUE –Roberta Capps, 53, of Truth or Consequences, N.M., pled guilty this morning to prescription drug trafficking charges in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M.  Capps entered her guilty plea was entered without the benefit of a plea agreement.

Roberta Capps and her husband Michael Capps, 52, were arrested on May 21, 2013, on criminal complaints alleging that they unlawfully distributed quantities of Oxycodone and Oxymorphone to a DEA confidential source on three occasions between Dec. 10, 2012 and Jan. 15, 2013.  On June 19, 2013, the couple was charged in a five-count indictment with one count of conspiracy and three counts of distribution of Oxycodone.  The fifth count charged Michael Capps with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to the indictment, Roberta Capps and Michael Capps conspired to distribute Oxycodone and unlawfully distributed Oxycodone on three separate occasions on Dec. 10, 2012, Dec. 18, 2012 and Jan. 15, 2013.  Court filings reflect that the couple sold the Oxycodone to an individual who unbeknownst to them was a confidential source for the DEA and that Roberta Capps admitted knowing that it was illegal to sell prescription medications to others during a recorded conversation with the source.

Today, Roberta Capps entered guilty pleas to Counts 1 through 4 of the indictment charging her with conspiracy and distribution of Oxycodone.  At sentencing, Roberta Capps faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.  Capps remains on conditions of release at a half-way house pending her sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

Michael Capps has entered a not guilty plea to the charges against him.  Charges in an indictment are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA and the Truth or Consequences Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda L. Gould of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

ALBUQUERQUE – Sheldon David Weisman, 56, was sentenced this morning to 51 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for robbing an Albuquerque-area bank in March 2013.

Weisman was arrested on March 15, 2013 based on a criminal complaint alleging that he robbed the Wells Fargo Bank located at 8333 Montgomery Blvd. NE in Albuquerque that day.    At the time of his arrest, Weisman was homeless and living out of his vehicle.  Weisman subsequently was indicted on a bank robbery charge in April 2013.

Court filings reflect that Weisman entered the bank on the afternoon of March 15, 2013, and handed a note demanding cash to a bank teller.  After the bank teller complied with Weisman’s demand and Weisman left the bank with a bag of cash, a bank employee observed Weisman drive away in a vehicle bearing a Texas license plate.  After a description of the vehicle was relayed to law enforcement authorities, an officer of the Albuquerque Police Department executed a traffic stop of a vehicle fitting the description and arrested Weisman.  A search of Weisman’s vehicle revealed the bank robbery note and a bag containing cash.

On Oct. 7, 2013, Weisman pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Albuquerque Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William J. Pflugrath.

ALBUQUERQUE – The owner of a gun shop in Hobbs, N.M., and his parents, who assisted their son in operating the gun shop, pleaded guilty this afternoon in Las Cruces federal court to violating the federal firearms laws, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough and Special Agent in Charge Bernard J. Zapor of the Phoenix Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Carlos Jonathan Cruz, 31, the owner of Hobbs Satellite Company Guns & Ammo, and his parents, Carlos Carlon Cruz, 60, and Norma M. Cruz, 56, were indicted in June 2013 and charged with violating the federal firearms laws by making false statements in connection with the acquisition of firearms by an individual who was acting as a “straw purchaser” and buying firearms on behalf of others.  Carlos Jonathan Cruz also was charged with unlawfully selling thousands of rounds of ammunition to an alien illegally in the United States, unlawfully possessing an unregistered sawed-off shotgun, and unlawfully possessing firearms with obliterated serial numbers.
           
During today’s proceedings, Carlos Jonathan Cruz pled guilty to a felony information charging him with (1) making false statements in connection with the acquisition of firearms by an individual who was acting as a “straw purchaser,” and (2) unlawfully possessing firearms with obliterated serial numbers.  In entering his guilty plea, Carlos Jonathan Cruz admitted that on April 23, 2013, he knowingly aided and abetted the making of a false statement by a straw purchaser who bought two firearms at his gun shop for an individual who was working as a confidential informant for the ATF.  Cruz also admitted possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number on May 29, 2013.

Carlos Jonathan Cruz’s parents each pled guilty to a felony information charging them with (1) making false statements in connection with the acquisition of firearms by an individual who was acting as a “straw purchaser,” and (2) unlawfully selling ammunition to a prohibited person.  In entering their guilty pleas, Carlos Carlon Cruz and Norma Cruz admitted that on April 9, 2013, they sold 2,500 rounds of ammunition to an alien who was illegally in the United States.  They also admitted that on April 23, 2013, they knowingly aided and abetted the making of a false statement by a straw purchaser who bought two firearms at his gun shop for an individual who was working as a confidential informant for the ATF. 

Under the terms of their plea agreements, Carlos Jonathan Cruz and Carlos Carlon Cruz will be sentenced to prison terms not to exceed 41 months of imprisonment and Norma Cruz will be sentenced to a prison term not to exceed 30 months of imprisonment.  They also are required to forfeit approximately 165 firearms, 25,703 rounds of ammunition and six silencers.  Their sentencing hearings have yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Hobbs Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia L. Weisman is handling the forfeiture proceedings.

ALBUQUERQUE – Jose J. Romero, 39, a non-Indian resident of Isleta Pueblo, was sentenced on Jan. 3, 2014 to 18 months of probation for his misdemeanor simple assault conviction. 

Romero entered a guilty plea on Sept. 26, 2013, to a misdemeanor information charging him with simple assault of an individual who had not attained the age of 16 years.  In his plea agreement, Romero admitted striking an Indian child under the age of 16 years in the face on Jan. 16, 2013.  He further admitted that his unlawful conduct occurred within Isleta Pueblo.

This case was investigated by the Southern Pueblos Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Isleta Pueblo Tribal Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Novaline D. Wilson.

ALBUQUERQUE – Cristian K. Watson, 20, a resident of Tierra Azul, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning to a felony information charging him with assault resulting in serious bodily injury under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Watson was arrested on Feb. 27, 2012, on a criminal complaint charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon and with the intent to do bodily harm.  According to the criminal complaint, Watson assaulted an enrolled member of the Shoshone Band of Indians who was living in Santa Clara Pueblo during a home invasion on Feb. 12, 2012.

During today’s plea hearing, Watson entered a guilty plea to an assault charge and admitted assaulting the victim on Feb. 12, 2012.  Court records reflect that on that day, Watson and an accomplice, Joshua Phillips, 21, a member and resident of Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, committed a home invasion at a Santa Clara Pueblo residence for the purpose of robbing the owner.  Watson admitted repeatedly stabbing the victim, who lived in the residence, while helping Phillips steal pills from the victim.  In his plea agreement, Watson acknowledged that the victim sustained five puncture wounds as a result of the assault, each of which required multiple staples to close.

A sentencing, Watson faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison.  Watson remains in federal custody pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

Phillips previously entered a guilty plea to a felony information charging him with aiding and abetting an assault resulting in serious bodily injury and was sentenced on Dec. 13, 2013, to ten months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services, Northern Pueblos Agency, with assistance from the Santa Clara Pueblo Tribal Police Department and the Espanola Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Presiliano A. Torrez.

ALBUQUERQUE – Sergio Saenz-Amaya, 30, a Mexican national illegally in the United States, was sentenced earlier today to 120 months in federal prison for his methamphetamine trafficking and firearms conviction.  Saenz-Amaya will be deported after he completes his prison sentence.

Saenz-Amaya and his co-defendant, Manuel Adrian Aldarette, 32, also a Mexican national illegally in the United States, were arrested on a criminal complaint in Oct. 2012, after Saenz-Amaya and Aldarette engaged in a drug trafficking transaction with a person who unbeknownst to them was a confidential informant with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).  Saenz-Amaya and Aldarette subsequently were indicted and charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.  Saenz-Amaya also was charged with using a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Saenz-Amaya pled guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and using a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime on Aug. 1, 2013. 

Aldarette pled guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Aug. 12, 2013.  Aldarette remains in federal custody pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.  At sentencing, Aldarette faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.  He will be deported after serving his prison sentence.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of HSI and the Albuquerque Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynn W.Y. Wang.

ALBUQUERQUE – Matthew Louis Brown, 25, pleaded guilty this morning to a domestic assault by a habitual offender charge, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough and DuWayne W. Honahni, Sr., Special Agent in Charge of District IV of BIA’s Office of Justice Services.

Brown, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna who resides in Mesita, N.M., was arrested on Oct. 2, 2013, based on a two-count indictment alleging that (1) he assaulted his intimate partner, a member of the Pueblo of Acoma, and (2) he assaulted the victim causing her serious bodily injury.  Brown was charged federally as a habitual domestic violence offender because he has two prior domestic violence convictions in the Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Court.

This morning, Brown pled guilty to Count 1 of the indictment and admitted assaulting the victim, his intimate partner and the mother of his child, by striking her in the face multiple times with a closed fist and kicking her head while she was on the ground.  Brown also admitted that the victim sustained serious bodily injury as a result of his attack and that he committed this crime on July 25, 2011, in a location within the Pueblo of Laguna. 

Court records reflect that Brown previously was convicted on domestic violence charges before the Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Court in 2004 and 2008.

Brown was remanded into federal custody after entering his guilty plea and will remain detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.  At sentencing, Brown faces a maximum sentence of ten years in federal prison.

This case was investigated by the Laguna/Acoma Agency of BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Pueblo of Laguna Police Department and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney David Adams.  It was brought pursuant to the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.

ALBUQUERQUE – John Hoffman, 43, of Rio Rancho, N.M., was sentenced this morning to two years of probation for his felony conviction for embezzling money belonging to an Indian gaming establishment.  His wife and accomplice, Michelle Fischer, 43, also received a two-year probationary sentence for her misdemeanor conviction for stealing from an Indian gaming establishment.  The Hoffmans jointly were ordered to pay $74,830.43 in restitution to the Santa Ana Star Casino, the victim of their criminal conduct.

Hoffman pled guilty in March 2013 to a felony information charging him with embezzling money belonging to the Santa Ana Star Casino, which is operated by Santa Ana Pueblo.  At the time, Hoffman was employed in the Marketing Department of the Santa Ana Star Casino.  Hoffman admitted that, from Dec. 2010 to Aug. 2011, he abused his position at the Santa Ana Star Casino by gaining access to active and inactive “Player’s Club” cards and adding money and credits to the cards without proper basis or authority.  Hoffman also admitted giving the cards to Fischer knowing that she intended to distribute the cards to others who would use the cards to gamble and who would give Hoffman and Fischer a percentage of their winnings.

Also in March 2013, Fischer pled guilty to a misdemeanor information charging her with theft of money belonging to the Santa Ana Star Casino.  In entering her guilty plea, Fischer admitted obtaining “Player’s Club” cards to which she was not entitled from a casino employee, and giving the cards to others who used the cards to gamble with the understanding that she would receive a percentage of the winnings.  Fischer also admitted that she also used some of the cards to gamble knowing that she was not entitled to do so and for the purpose of obtaining a financial benefit.

This case was investigated by the Santa Ana Tribal Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback.

ALBUQUERQUE – Victor Manuel Carreon, 23, of Anthony, N.M., pleaded guilty this afternoon in Las Cruces federal court to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  Carreon entered his guilty plea without the benefit of a plea agreement.

Carreon and his brother Javier Orozco, 29, also of Anthony, were arrested on Sept. 5, 2013, based on a criminal complaint charging them with being felons in possession of firearms and ammunition.  The two were subsequently indicted on these charges on Dec. 11, 2013.  The indictment alleges that Carreon and Orozco unlawfully possessed firearms and ammunition in Doña Ana County, N.M., on June 19, 2013.  At the time, the brothers were prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because they were convicted felons.  Carreon previously had been convicted for possession of a controlled substance and aggravated fleeing from a law enforcement officer, and Orozco had been convicted for shooting at a motor vehicle and aggravated assault.

According to the criminal complaint, on June 19, 2013, Carreon and Orozco were arrested on state charges by Doña Ana County Sheriff’s deputies who were seeking to arrest Carreon on state warrants.  The deputies detained Orozco in the vicinity of a truck parked outside a residence in Anthony, and arrested Carreon inside the residence.  At the time of his arrest, Carreon was near a trash can that contained a loaded handgun; he admitted ownership of the handgun during a post-arrest interview.  The deputies arrested Orozco after they allegedly found a large amount of cash and a plastic bag containing methamphetamine in Orozco’s pockets.  During a search of the truck, which allegedly was driven primarily by Orozco, officers allegedly found additional currency and a loaded handgun.

During today’s proceedings, Carreon pled guilty to Count 2 of the indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and admitted that he unlawfully possessed a firearm and ammunition on June 19, 2013.  Carreon has been in federal custody since his arrest in Sept. 2013, and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.  Carreon faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison when he is sentenced.

Orozco also has been in federal custody since his arrest in this case.  Orozco has pleaded not guilty to the indictment, which is merely an accusation.  Orozco is presumed innocent unless he is found guilty in a court of law.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI and the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the 3th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

ALBUQUERQUE – Raymond Berger, 32, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced this morning to ten years in federal prison followed by 25 years of supervised release for his child enticement conviction.  Berger will be required to register as a sex offender when he completes his prison sentence.

The sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough, 2nd Judicial District Attorney Kari E. Brandenburg, Special Agent in Charge Dennis A. Ulrich, II, of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, Texas, Chief Allen Banks of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD), and Bernalillo County Sheriff Dan Houston.

Berger was arrested on May 26, 2013 by HSI agents on an indictment charging him with enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity.  The indictment alleged that between May 2, 2013 and May 6, 2013, Berger used the Internet and a cellular telephone to coerce and entice an individual whom he believed to be a minor to engage in sexual activity.  Berger was arrested on state charges of solicitation of a child with an electronic communications devise on May 6, 2013.  The state charges were dismissed after Berger was federally charged.

On Sept. 25, 2013, Berger pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that he engaged in a text messaging relationship with a person whom he believed to be a 12-year-old girl and that he made multiple solicitations for a sexual relationship with the “girl.”  Berger further admitted that he made arrangements to meet with the “girl” in a parking lot on May 6, 2013 and was arrested by APD officers when he arrived at the parking lot. 

Court filings reflect that Berger initiated the text messaging with the “girl” on May 2, 2013, when he responded to an Internet ad that included a photograph of an undercover officer who appeared to be a minor.  The ad was placed by an APD officer who represented to Berger that he was a 12-year-old girl.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of HSI, APD and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Lizarraga as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.

The case also was brought as part of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico.  There are 64 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office.  Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.

ALBUQUERQUE – Jeremiah Burns, 32, a member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation who resides in Dulce, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning to an indictment charging him with involuntary manslaughter.

Burns was arrested in Aug. 2013, based on an indictment charging him with killing a man on Oct. 22, 2011, while driving under the influence of alcohol within the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation.  In entering his guilty plea, Burns admitted killing the victim while driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana which rendered him incapable of exercising clear judgment and a steady hand in handling a vehicle.  As such, Burns acknowledged that he operated the vehicle without due caution and with a reckless disregard that imperiled the lives of others.   

Under the terms of his plea agreement, Burns will be sentenced to 20 months in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.  Burns’ sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

The case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Jicarilla Apache Tribal Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback.

ALBUQUERQUE – Stephen Gurule, 34, of Espanola, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning to an indictment charging him with bank robbery.

Gurule was arrested on Oct. 3, 2013 on a criminal complaint charging him with robbing the Community Bank located at 411 Carr Lane, Espanola, N.M. on Sept. 27, 2013, and subsequently was indicted on a bank robbery charge. 

According to court filings, the Community Bank was robbed at approximately 3:00 pm on Sept. 27, 2013 by a man who passed a handwritten note demanding money to a bank teller.  On Oct. 1, 2013, the FBI received a call from an individual who reported that Gurule had confessed to robbing the Community Bank.  The following day, another individual called the FBI to report that Gurule had confessed to robbing a bank in Espanola.  The FBI obtained an arrest warrant for Gurule on Oct. 3, 2013, after comparing a driver’s license photograph of Gurule to the robber shown on the bank surveillance video and determining that the robber appeared to be Gurule.

During today’s proceedings, Gurule entered a guilty plea to the indictment and admitted robbing Community Bank on Sept. 27, 2013.  Gurule has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.  At sentencing, Gurule faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

This case was investigated by the Santa Fe Office of the FBI and City of Espanola Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Walsh.

ALBUQUERQUE – Elvan Hovel, 42, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, N.M., pleaded guilty today to a voluntarily manslaughter charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. 

Hovel was arrested in Aug. 2013, based on a criminal complaint charging him with second degree murder and subsequently charged in an indictment in Sept., 2013 with voluntary manslaughter.  According to court filings, on July 22, 2012, Hovel pushed a 48-year-old Navajo woman who was intoxicated into an irrigation canal where the victim drowned.

In his plea agreement, Hovel admitted killing the victim on July 22, 2012, in a location within the Navajo Indian Reservation.  Hovel pushed the victim into an irrigation canal at a time when the two were intoxicated and arguing.  Hovel did not make any effort to rescue the victim as he watched her float away in the canal and go under.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Hovel will be sentenced to five years in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court. He remains in custody pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

The case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elaine Y. Ramirez.

ALBUQUERQUE – Michael Dameon Blackburn, 28, of Albuquerque, N.M., made his initial appearance in federal court earlier today on a criminal complaint charging him with production and distribution of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough, Special Agent in Charge Dennis A. Ulrich, II, of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, Texas, Bernalillo County Sheriff Dan Houston and Albuquerque Police Chief Allen Banks.

Blackburn was arrested yesterday afternoon by HSI agents on the criminal complaint which charges Blackburn with producing and distributing child pornography in Bernalillo County, N.M., between March 2013 and Dec. 2013.  Blackburn remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for tomorrow morning. 

The criminal complaint is the result of an investigation that began on Nov. 15, 2013, when the HSI in Albuquerque received information from the HSI Cyber Crimes Center about a pornographic image of a young child victim who might be in the Albuquerque area.  HSI’s investigative efforts identified a residence in northeast Albuquerque as a potential location for the person who may have distributed the pornographic image of the young child victim. 

According to the criminal complaint, on Dec. 17, 2013, law enforcement officers conducted a welfare check at the residence and made contact with Blackburn and two young children, a girl and a boy both two years of age, who apparently were left in Blackburn’s care while their parents were out of town.  The complaint alleges that the officers learned that Blackburn had been sexually molesting the two young children from March 2013 through Dec. 2013, and taking photographs and making videos of the victims while he molested them.  It further alleges that Blackburn emailed the child pornography images and videos to others.

The two young victims were removed from the residence and are in protective custody.

If convicted of the offenses charged in the criminal complaint, Blackburn faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison for production of child pornography, and a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for distribution of child pornography.  If convicted, Blackburn also will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.  Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and a criminal defendant is presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of HSI, Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the Albuquerque Police Department, all members of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Lizarraga as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.

The Operation also was brought as a part of the New Mexico ICAC Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico.  There are 64 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office.  Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.

• Complaint

ALBUQUERQUE – Jayleen Armijo, 30, a member and resident of Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M., was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release for her conviction on an assault charge.

Armijo was indicted in Feb. 2013, and charged with assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  According to the indictment, Armijo assaulted a woman on Dec. 20, 2012, in a location within the Santa Ana Pueblo.  The victim sustained a broken orbital socket, a broken nose and over a dozen bite wounds which left permanent scars as a result of the assault.

On August 29, 2013, Armijo entered a guilty plea without the benefit of a plea agreement and admitted assaulting the victim on Dec. 20, 2013.  Armijo further admitted that the victim sustained serious injuries as a result of the assault.

This case was investigated by the Southern Pueblos Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Santa Ana Tribal Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mysliwiec.

ALBUQUERQUE – Robert Lopez, 27, of Roswell, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning in Las Cruces federal court to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  Lopez entered his guilty plea without the benefit of a plea agreement.

Lopez was arrested in June 2013, based on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and subsequently was indicted on that same charge.  The indictment charged Lopez with unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition in Chaves County, N.M., on July 19, 2012.  At the time, Lopez was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of a felony offense, possession of methamphetamine, in the 5th Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico. 

Court filings reflect that on July 19, 2012, Lopez assaulted a Chaves County Sheriff’s deputy while the deputy was attempting to execute a warrant for Lopez’s arrest.  Lopez initially fled from the deputy and then assumed a fighting stance, hitting the deputy in the head and biting the deputy’s right ear.  After the deputy subdued and arrested Lopez, Lopez told the deputy that he had a firearm in his vehicle.  The Chaves County Sheriff’s Office then obtained a search warrant for the vehicle and recovered a pistol loaded with ten rounds.

During today’s proceedings, Lopez pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that he unlawfully possessed a firearm and ammunition on July 19, 2012.  At his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled, Lopez faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison.

This case was investigated by the Roswell office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Chaves County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

ALBUQUERQUE – George Nez, 71, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Mexican Springs, N.M., entered a guilty plea this morning to a child sex abuse charge and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison to be followed by ten years of supervised release.  Nez will be required to register as a sex offender when he completes his prison sentence. 

Nez was indicted in March 2011 and charged with three counts of abusive sexual contact of a child under the age of 12.  The indictment alleged that Nez had sexual contact with a child under the age of 12 on three occasions at a location within the Navajo Indian Reservation between June 2009 and Sept. 2009.  Court filings reflect that the child victim reported the abuse to a parent in Jan. 2011, and the parent contacted law enforcement authorities prompting the investigation that led to the filing of charges against Nez.

This morning, Nez pled guilty to Count 1 of the indictment charging him with abusive sexual contact and admitted knowingly engaging in sexual contact with a child under the age of 12 years by touching the child’s genitals.  Nez acknowledged that he committed this offense between June 1, 2009 and Sept. 1, 2009.  Nez was sentenced immediately after entering his guilty plea.

This case was investigated by the Gallup office of the FBI and the Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles L. Barth.

ALBUQUERQUE – Robert Mullen, 60, a former officer with the Lawton, Okla., Police Department who now resides in Albuquerque, N.M., was arrested this morning by Special Agents of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on a criminal complaint charging him with receiving and possessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  Mullen made his initial appearance in federal court this afternoon and remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for tomorrow morning.
           
According to the criminal complaint, in Aug. 2013, a special agent with the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office (NMAGO) identified an IP address that was being used to share files containing child pornography while conducting an investigation targeting those who share child pornography on peer-to-peer file sharing networks.  Subsequent investigation revealed that the IP address was subscribed to Mullen at a residential address in west side of Albuquerque.

The criminal complaint states that on Dec. 11, 2013, HSI, the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) and other agencies participating in the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force executed a state search warrant at the residence and seized a computer and computer-related media.  A preliminary forensic examination of a computer taken from a bedroom allegedly used by Mullen recovered images and videos consistent with child pornography.     
           
If convicted of the charges in the criminal complaint, Mullen faces a federal prison term of not less than five years and not more than 20 years.  If convicted, Mullen also would be required to register as a sex offender.  Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of HSI, the NMAGO and the Albuquerque Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Lizarraga as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.

The Operation also was brought as a part of the New Mexico ICAC Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico.  There are 64 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the NMAGO.  Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.

ALBUQUERQUE – Yesterday afternoon, Vincent Thomas Montoya, 30, of Farmington, N.M., was sentenced to a 24-month term of imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Montoya was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number in a two-count indictment filed in July 2012.  The indictment alleged that on Jan. 5, 2011, Montoya possessed a revolver with an obliterated serial number in San Juan County, N.M.  At the time, Montoya was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of breaking and entering in the 11th Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico.

Montoya pled guilty in Dec. 2012 to Count 1 of the indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm.  In his plea agreement, Montoya admitted that on Jan. 5, 2011, he possessed a firearm with an obliterated serial number in Farmington, and further admitted selling the firearm to another person on that day.

The case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Farmington Police Department, the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office and the Bloomfield Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Walsh.

ALBUQUERQUE – Rodney Chavez, 47, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced yesterday afternoon to 63 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for his wire fraud and money laundering conviction.  Chavez also was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $847,370.52 to the victims of his criminal conduct.  He also was ordered to forfeit $233,548.40 in funds that were seized from three bank accounts during the investigation of the case.  The sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough and Dawn Mertz, Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Office of IRS Criminal Investigation.

Chavez and his co-defendants, Wayne Brian Church, Jr., 28, and Joshua G. Ellis, 43, both of Albuquerque, were charged in Jan. 2012, with wire fraud and money laundering charges in a 22-count indictment that generally alleged that the three men defrauded investors of more than $800,000 in a real estate venture.  Chavez and Church were arrested based on the charges in the indictment in Feb. 2012.  Ellis has yet to be arrested and is considered a fugitive. 

After Church pleaded guilty in Aug. 2012 to a felony information charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, Chavez and Ellis were charged in a 21-count superseding indictment filed in Oct. 2012.  The superseding indictment charged Chavez and Ellis with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five substantive wire fraud offenses.  It also charged Chavez with conspiracy to launder the proceeds generated by their fraudulent activities and 14 substantive money laundering offenses, and sought forfeiture of the proceeds of the defendants’ unlawful activities. 

On Sept. 9, 2013, Chavez pled guilty to Counts 6 and 7 of the superseding indictment, charging him with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, respectively.  In his plea agreement, Chavez admitted that, between March 2010 and April 2011, he designed and executed a scheme to defraud a group of investors of their interest in certain properties located in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico.  Chavez embarked on the scheme after learning that the investors were interested in selling the properties at a substantial loss after realizing that they would not be able to recoup the full amount of their original investments.  In March 2010, Chavez contacted a representative of the investor group under an assumed identity and entered into an agreement to sell the properties on behalf of the investors with the understanding that the investors would receive a return of 30% of their original investments.  Despite his stated intention to sell the properties and distribute the agreed amount to the investors, Chavez admitted that he never intended to honor that agreement and instead intended to defraud the investors by selling the properties and retaining the proceeds for himself.

According to the plea agreement, while falsely assuring investors of his efforts to sell the properties on their behalf, Chavez hired a real estate agent to sell the properties and sold five properties, the sales of which generated approximately $847,370.52 in proceeds.  After the proceeds were wire-transferred to a bank in Albuquerque with assistance from Church, Chavez did not distribute the proceeds to the investors.  Instead, Chavez and Church kept the proceeds and conspired to conceal the source of the proceeds by transferring the money to bank accounts held in the names of businesses they exclusively controlled.  None of the proceeds from the sale of properties were returned to the investors.

Church remains on conditions of release pending his sentencing hearing when he faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.  The charges in the superseding indictment against Ellis are merely accusations and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean J. Sullivan.

ALBUQUERQUE – Solas Jansen, 36, of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning to an indictment charging him with bank robbery under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Jansen was arrested on Sept. 29, 2013, based on a criminal complaint charging him with robbing the Western Commerce Bank located at 1910 Wyoming Blvd. NE in Albuquerque on Sept. 24, 2013.  Jansen committed the robbery by presenting a demand note to a bank teller who complied with Jansen’s demand for money.  As Jansen was leaving the bank, surveillance cameras captured video images of Jansen as he ran away from the bank.  On Sept. 26, 2013, after the surveillance camera images of Jansen were broadcast by local media outlets, a tipster contacted the Albuquerque Police Department and identified Jansen as the bank robber.  On Sept. 27, 2013, the FBI presented a photo array that included Jansen’s photograph to the victim bank teller who identified Jansen as the bank robber.

During today’s plea hearing, Jansen admitted robbing the bank.  Jansen has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.  At sentencing, Jansen faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Albuquerque Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mysliwiec.ALBUQUERQUE – Solas Jansen, 36, of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning to an indictment charging him with bank robbery under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Jansen was arrested on Sept. 29, 2013, based on a criminal complaint charging him with robbing the Western Commerce Bank located at 1910 Wyoming Blvd. NE in Albuquerque on Sept. 24, 2013.  Jansen committed the robbery by presenting a demand note to a bank teller who complied with Jansen’s demand for money.  As Jansen was leaving the bank, surveillance cameras captured video images of Jansen as he ran away from the bank.  On Sept. 26, 2013, after the surveillance camera images of Jansen were broadcast by local media outlets, a tipster contacted the Albuquerque Police Department and identified Jansen as the bank robber.  On Sept. 27, 2013, the FBI presented a photo array that included Jansen’s photograph to the victim bank teller who identified Jansen as the bank robber.

During today’s plea hearing, Jansen admitted robbing the bank.  Jansen has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.  At sentencing, Jansen faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Albuquerque Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mysliwiec.

ALBUQUERQUE – Arthur Sanchez, 35, of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning to a two-count indictment charging him with heroin trafficking and being an armed career felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  The guilty plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough, 2nd Judicial District Attorney Kari E. Brandenburg, Special Agent in Charge Bernard J. Zapor of the Phoenix Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Albuquerque Police Chief Allen Banks.

Sanchez was arrested on state charges on March 30, 2011, after officers of the Albuquerque Police Department observed Sanchez throw an object out of his vehicle’s window when they pulled him over for a traffic violation.  The object was a package containing approximately 22 grams of heroin.  The officers subsequently recovered a pistol with a loaded magazine from Sanchez’s vehicle. 

In March 2013, Sanchez was indicted federally and charged with possession of heroin with intent to distribute and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition based on the conduct occurring on March 30, 2011.  At the time, Sanchez was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of the following felony offenses:  aggravated assault and auto burglary; robbery; and aggravated robbery with a firearm. The related state charges were dismissed after Sanchez was transferred to federal custody in April 2013.

During today’s proceedings, Sanchez entered a guilty plea to both counts of the indictment.  Sanchez admitted intentionally possessing heroin on March 30, 2011, with the intention of distributing it.  He also admitted possessing a loaded pistol on that day.

Sanchez will remain detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, Sanchez will be sentenced to 15 years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.  Sanchez will receive this enhanced sentence because of his status as an armed career criminal.

Sanchez was prosecuted as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution.  Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Albuquerque Police Department, with assistance from the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mysliwiec.

ALBUQUERQUE – Christian Alexander Sangiovanni, 33, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced to ten years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Sangiovanni was arrested in Aug. 2012, on an indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  The indictment alleged that Sangiovanni unlawfully possessed a firearm and ammunition on April 25, 2010, in Bernalillo County, N.M.  At the time, Sangiovanni was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of the following three felony offenses in the 12th Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico:  embezzlement in 2000; sexual exploitation of children in 2001; and battery on a police officer in 2003.  He also previously had been convicted of possession of heroin with intent to distribute in the 4th Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico in Guadalupe County in 2005.

Sangiovanni was convicted on March 20, 2013, after a jury trial where the evidence established that on April 25, 2010, Sangiovanni brandished a firearm at a 17-year-old high school student in a car outside a convenience store in the Northeast Heights of Albuquerque. While brandishing the firearm, Sangiovanni threatened to kill first the teenager and then himself. Later that night, Sangiovanni sent the teenager an E-mail in which he threatened her against telling anyone about the violent encounter.  Thereafter, Sangiovanni E-mailed the teenager photographs of himself holding a pistol to his head.  On April 26, 2010, the teenager and her mother contacted the police and reported Sangiovanni’s threats against the teenager and provided the E-mails containing the threats and photographs of Sangiovanni holding the pistol to his head. 

On May 3, 2010, after Sangiovanni continued to send threatening E-mails to the teenager, officers executed an arrest and search operation at a residence where Sangiovanni was staying.  After arresting Sangiovanni on state charges, the officers found a Smith & Wesson, model 459, 9mm pistol with an extended magazine that contained rounds of ammunition.  The pistol subsequently was identified by the teenager as the weapon that Sangiovanni brandished at her on April 25, 2010.

The case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Albuquerque Police Department with assistance from the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman Cairns.

ALBUQUERQUE – Javier Castruita, 45, of Anthony, N.M., entered a guilty plea yesterday to cocaine trafficking charges in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M.  His guilty plea resolves the last remaining case charged as a result of a multi-agency investigation that culminated in the filing of drug trafficking charges against 28 residents from Doña Ana County, N.M., and El Paso County, Texas, last spring.

Castruita and 27 others were charged in 12 criminal complaints with distributing cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana in and around southern Doña Ana County.  The criminal complaints were unsealed on May 8, 2013, following a multi-agency arrest operation resulting in the arrests of 22 defendants.  Five others subsequently were arrested, leaving one fugitive. 

The charges against the defendants were the result of an intensive four-month multi-agency investigation led by the FBI’s Las Cruces Cross-Border Drug Violence Hybrid Squad and Southern New Mexico Gang Task Force that targeted known drug dealers in southern Doña Ana County.  The U.S. Border Patrol and the Las Cruces- Doña Ana County Metro Narcotics Agency, which is comprised of officers from the New Mexico State Police, the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office and the Las Cruces Police Department, participated in the investigation. During the course of the investigation, officers oversaw approximately 40 covert drug buys and the purchase of five firearms from the defendants.

The investigation was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, a nationwide Department of Justice program that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations. 

Yesterday’s guilty plea was the 24th guilty plea entered by defendants arrested as a result of the investigation.  The charges against one of the remaining three defendants were dismissed in support of his prosecution on more significant methamphetamine trafficking charges in the Western District of Texas.  Charges against the other two were dismissed with leave to refile.

The cases were investigated by the FBI’s Las Cruces Cross-Border Drug Violence Hybrid Squad, the Las Cruces- Doña Ana County Metro Narcotics Agency, the U.S. Border Patrol and the Dona Doña County Sheriff’s Office.  They are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shaheen P. Torgoley and Sarah M. Davenport of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office. 

CASE SUMMARIES

Castruita and his two co-defendants Gloria Portillo Valdivia, 51, and Carlos Alberto Valdivia, 56, both of Anthony, N.M., were charged with cocaine trafficking offenses.  Portillo Valdivia pled guilty on Sept. 12, 2013, and was sentenced on Dec. 4, 2013 to ten months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.  Valdivia pled guilty on Oct. 4, 2013, under a plea agreement that requires the imposition of an 84-month prison sentence.  Castruita, who pled guilty this morning, faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison at sentencing.

Abel Romero, 29, of Anthony, N.M., Victor Cano, 30, of Anthony, N.M., and Jaime Cano, 30, of Canutillo, Texas, were charged with cocaine and marijuana trafficking offenses.  Romero also was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.   Victor Cano pled guilty on Nov. 7, 2013, under a plea agreement that requires the imposition of a sentence in the range of 30 to 37 months in prison.  Jaime Cano also pled guilty on Nov. 7, 2013, under a plea agreement that requires the imposition of a sentence in the range of 40 to 60 months in prison.  On Dec. 5, 2013, Romero pled guilty under a plea agreement that requires the imposition of a 131 month prison sentence. 

Noe Perez-Rodriguez, 46, of Berino, N.M., and Larry Valles, Sr., 50, of Los Lunas, N.M., each pled guilty on Sept. 12, 2013, to methamphetamine trafficking charges.  At sentencing, each faces a sentence of not less than five years and not more than 40 years in prison.

Rudy Portillo, 54, and Isaiah Portillo, 20, both of Anthony, N.M., and Victor Leos, 53, of Anthony, Texas, were charged with heroin trafficking offenses.  Isaiah Portillo and Leos entered guilty pleas on Oct. 11, 2013 and Oct. 24, 2013, respectively, and Rudy Portillo pled guilty on Dec. 5, 2013.  At sentencing, Rudy Portillo and Leos each faces a sentence of not less than five years and not more than 40 years in prison, and Isaiah Portillo faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Victor Alvarez, 43, of Las Cruces, N.M., and Benjamin Ochoa, 31, of Las Cruces, N.M., pled guilty to cocaine trafficking charges on Oct. 31, 2013 and Nov. 7, 2013, respectively.   Each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison at sentencing.

Daniel Arrieta, 38, of Anthony, N.M., pled guilty to a heroin trafficking charge on Dec. 5, 2013, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison at sentencing.

Michael Vega, 26, and Raul Martinez, 25, both of Anthony, N.M., were charged with cocaine trafficking offenses.  Vega pled guilty on Nov. 21, 2013, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison at sentencing.  The charges against Martinez were dismissed without prejudice on Nov. 26, 2013.

John Eric Sapien, 25, of Anthony, N.M., pled guilty to a cocaine trafficking charge on Sept. 20, 2013, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison at sentencing.

Jose Salcido, 51, of Anthony, N.M., pled guilty to a cocaine trafficking charge, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison at sentencing.   The charges against his co-defendant Gerardo Garcia, 63, who was the sole fugitive, were dismissed following his deportation to Mexico.

Joey Martinez, 29, and Eloy Rios-Montoya, 40, both of Anthony, Texas, pled guilty to cocaine trafficking charges on Sept. 5, 2013 and Sept. 20, 2013, respectively.  Each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison at sentencing.

Freddy Sanchez-Ramirez, 56, of Anthony, N.M., and Roberto Andres Urquidi, 34, of Canutillo, Texas, pled guilty to heroin trafficking charges on Sept. 20, 2013 and Nov. 7, 2013, respectively.  Each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison at sentencing.

Jesus M. Baeza-Lascano, 44, of Anthony, N.M., pled guilty to a cocaine trafficking charge on July 23, 2013, and was sentenced to ten months in prison on Oc. 22, 2013.  Baeza-Lascano, a Mexican national, will be deported after he completes his prison sentence.  The charges against his co-defendant Martin Nevarez, 49, of Anthony, N.M., were dismissed.

Jose Alvarez, 27, of Anthony, N.M., and Angel Herrera, 31, of Berino, N.M., each pled guilty on Sept. 12, 2013, to a felony information charging them with a heroin trafficking conspiracy.  Each was sentenced to time-served and two years of supervised release.

ALBUQUERQUE – Derek Barnhill, 49, of Rio Rancho, N.M., was sentenced yesterday afternoon to three months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release, which is to include nine months of home confinement, for his bank fraud and money laundering conviction.  Barnhill also was ordered to pay $560,129.39 in restitution.  The restitution is to be paid jointly with co-defendant Vincent J. Garcia.

In June 2010, Barnhill, Vincent Garcia, 61, an Albuquerque real estate developer, and David Garcia, 37, of Albuquerque, were charged in a 19-count superseding indictment with bank fraud and money laundering offenses in connection with three real estate development projects, including the Anasazi Downtown LLC (Anasazi Building). 

Barnhill pled guilty in Dec. 2010, to Count 3, a bank fraud offense, and Count 10, a money laundering offense, and admitted collaborating with Vincent Garcia in a bank fraud and money laundering scheme.  In Aug. 2011, Vincent Garcia entered a guilty plea to Count 3 of the superseding indictment, and admitted committing bank fraud in the amount of $365,677.00, and acknowledged that the gross loss amount to the victims of his fraudulent activity was $842,237.44.  Neither Barnhill nor Vincent Garcia implicated David Garcia in the criminal conduct charged in the superseding indictment and the charges against him subsequently were dismissed.

According to court filings, Vincent Garcia executed a plan to obtain funding from the Columbian Bank & Trust Co. (Bank) by having Barnhill submit a construction loan drawn-down request containing a material misrepresentation to the Bank.  The scheme began on Feb. 12, 2007, when Garcia told Barnhill that he needed $360,000.00 for a “good faith payment” towards the purchase of a casino.  Garcia asked Barnhill to use an old bid for sheet rock for the Anasazi Building to get the money.  Barnhill altered the sheet rock bid to support a fictitious draw-down request for $365,677.00, and submitted the request based solely on the false invoice to the Bank.  After the Bank disbursed the money, Barnhill transferred the funds to an Anasazi account at New Mexico Bank and Trust.  The next day, Garcia and Barnhill went to New Mexico Bank and Trust and withdrew $360,000.00 of the proceeds and deposited the money at Compass Bank into an account in the name of Albuquerque Downtown Partners.  Thereafter, Garcia flew to Washington State with a Compass Bank check for $360,000.00 to make a payment on the casino.

Vincent Garcia was sentenced in April 2013, to 27-months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release.  He also was ordered to pay $722,543.76 in restitution.  Garcia is serving his prison sentence.

This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation, the FDIC-OIG and the Albuquerque office of the FBI, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathon M. Gerson.

ALBUQUERQUE – Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough and Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit of the DEA’s El Paso Division announced the indictment of 15 men on federal drug trafficking charges.  The 15-count superseding indictment was unsealed today following an early morning multi-agency law enforcement operation resulting in the arrests of 14 of the 15 defendants and the execution of 13 federal search warrants and five seizure warrants.  The 15th defendant, who is on conditions of release in a related federal case, is scheduled to appear in court this afternoon.

The superseding indictment is the result of an 18-month investigation by the DEA and New Mexico DEA Region I HIDTA Task Force into a drug trafficking organization allegedly led by David Reynolds, 31, of Albuquerque, N.M., that distributed large quantities of heroin in Bernalillo and Santa Fe Counties.  The investigation, code-named “Operation Sand Wedge,” because of Reynolds’ affinity for golf, was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) program.  OCDETF is a nationwide Department of Justice program that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations.

The 15-count superseding indictment charges Reynolds and 14 others with conspiracy to distribute heroin in Bernalillo and Santa Fe Counties from Sept. 2012 to Dec. 2013.  It also charges Gene Solis, 19, with distributing heroin on three occasions in fall 2012; Humberto Hernandez, Jr., 37, with distributing methamphetamine on seven occasions between Feb. and Aug. 2013; and Jose Martinez-Encinias, 41, with possession of heroin and cocaine in June 2013 with intent to distribute.   Martinez-Encinias also is charged with possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and Reynolds is charged with money laundering.  The superseding indictment also includes forfeiture provisions that seek a money judgment of at least $1.3 million and property and assets obtained directly or indirectly from the commission of the crimes alleged in the indictment.

The 15 defendants charged in the superseding indictment are scheduled to make their initial appearances in federal court in Albuquerque this afternoon.  If convicted on the drug trafficking charges in the superseding indictment, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of a mandatory minimum ten years to a maximum of life in prison.  If convicted on the firearms charge, Martinez-Encinias also faces a mandatory five year prison sentence to be served consecutive to any prison sentence imposed on the drug trafficking charges.  Reynolds faces up to ten years in prison if convicted on the money laundering charge.

An additional defendant, arrested for being a felon in possession of a firearm during today’s operation, also is scheduled to be in court this afternoon.  If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison on that charge.

Martinez-Encinias was arrested during the course of the investigation on June 4, 2013, after the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office executed a state search warrant at his residence in the west side of Albuquerque and seized approximately four pounds of heroin, a kilogram of cocaine, 17 firearms and ammunition, and more than $19,000.  In addition, authorities obtained approximately 415 grams of methamphetamine, including 324 grams of pure methamphetamine, and approximately 170 grams of heroin through undercover purchases during the course of the investigation.  During today’s law enforcement operation, authorities seized approximately two pounds of heroin, approximately $60,000 in cash, three firearms and eleven vehicles.

“Heroin is an insidious drug that is highly addictive, destroys lives and exacts a tremendous toll on society,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough.  “I commend the DEA and the Region I HIDTA Task Force for their unrelenting commitment to bring to justice individuals who, with total disregard for human life, choose to sell heroin and other drugs in our communities.”

“The arrests and seizures in this investigation have dismantled an organization responsible for distributing large quantities of heroin in the Albuquerque area,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit.  “Because the trafficking and abuse of these drugs seriously impact public health and safety in our communities, DEA and its law enforcement partners will continue to work together to bring traffickers to justice and shut down their operations.” 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and the New Mexico DEA Region I HIDTA Task Force, with assistance from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas J. Ganjei and Joel R. Meyers.  The following agencies participated in this morning’s law enforcement operation: U.S. Marshals Service, FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, ATF, Region III HIDTA Multi-Jurisdictional Task Force and New Mexico State Police.

The New Mexico DEA Region I HIDTA Task Force is comprised of officers from the Albuquerque Police Department, Pueblo of Pojoaque Tribal Police Department, Rio Rancho Police Department, Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office and Valencia County Sheriff’s Office.  The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.  HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.

Defendants Charged in U.S. v. Reynolds, et al., 13-CR-2225 MV

David Reynolds, 31, Albuquerque
Allen Cameron, 48, Albuquerque
Jose Martinez-Encinias, 41, Albuquerque
Humberto Hernandez, Jr., 37, Albuquerque
Erik Barros, 30, Albuquerque
Gene Solis, 19, Albuquerque
Manuel Griego, 34, Santa Fe
Daniel Jiron, 39, Albuquerque
Robert Herrera, 40, Albuquerque
Miguel Baca, 37, Albuquerque
Joe Sanchez, 21, Albuquerque
Arthur Gallegos, 27, Albuquerque
Christopher Ortega, 41, Albuquerque
Teddy Archuleta, 32, Albuquerque
Zebulun Smith, 31, Albuquerque

Defendant Arrested for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm

David Ben Reynolds, 25, Albuquerque

Charges in indictments and criminal complaints are only accusations.  All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

• Indictment

ALBUQUERQUE – Maurice Antonio, 34, a member of Acoma Pueblo who resides in Acomita, N.M., was sentenced yesterday to time-served, a total of 410 days in federal and tribal custody, for failure to update his sex offender registration.  Antonio will be on supervised release for five years.

Antonio was arrested on Jan. 25, 2013, on an indictment charging him with failing to update his sex offender registration as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).  Antonio has been in federal custody since that time.  SORNA, also known as the Adam Walsh Protection and Safety Act, requires that a convicted sex offender register in each jurisdiction where the offender resides, where the offender is employed, and/or where the offender is a student, and that the sex offender maintain current registrations.

"Investigating and assisting with the prosecution of the non-compliant and unregistered sex offenders is a primary responsibility of the United States Marshals Service, which contributes to the overall safety and welfare of New Mexico’s many communities," said U.S. Marshal Conrad E. Candelaria.  "The Marshals Service will continue to serve as a facilitator of inter-agency cooperation with local, county, state, tribal and federal law enforcement agencies, working collaboratively so that are children can live and play without fear."           

According to court filings, Antonio was convicted of a child sexual abuse offense in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico in 2002, and sentenced to five years of probation.  As a condition of his probation, Antonio was required to register as a sex offender in the sheriff’s office in his county of residence and to update his registration every 90 days thereafter. 

In Oct. 2012, the Pueblo of Laguna Police Department arrested Antonio for violating SORNA after receiving information that he was residing on the Pueblo of Laguna for an extended period without notifying the Pueblo.  Subsequent investigation revealed that Antonio had not registered with Pueblo of Laguna or renewed his registration with the Cibola County Sheriff’s Office.  Antonio was transferred from tribal custody to federal custody on Jan. 25, 2013.

On Aug. 23, 2013, Antonio pled guilty to the indictment and admitted he had failed to update his sex offender registration since Oct. 29, 2012.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Marshal Service and the Pueblo of Laguna Police Department, and was prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Glynette R. Carson McNabb.

ALBUQUERQUE –John Charles McCluskey, 48, will receive a life prison sentence for a host of crimes arising out of the carjacking and murder of a couple from Tecumseh, Okla., after a federal jury today announced that it could not reach a unanimous decision on whether to impose the death penalty, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough of the District of New Mexico, Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI, and New Mexico State Police Chief Pete N. Kassetas.
                              
McCluskey was charged with several capital offenses in a 20-count indictment arising out of the Aug. 2, 2010, carjacking and murders of Gary and Linda Haas, both 61, in Quay County, N.M.  On Oct. 7, 2013, the jury found McCluskey guilty on all counts of the indictment after an eight-week trial.  On Nov. 5, 2013, the jury found McCluskey eligible for the death penalty following a three-week proceeding.  The capital trial concluded today when the jury said it was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on the death penalty.  McCluskey will receive a sentence of life in prison.  The court has not yet scheduled a date for the imposition of the sentence.

“During an exceptionally violent criminal episode in the summer of 2010, John Charles McCluskey escaped from prison where he was serving a sentence for attempted murder, committed multiple kidnappings during his interstate flight from justice, and mercilessly killed two innocent victims to eliminate them as witnesses,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman.  “Through the hard work of federal and state law enforcement and Department of Justice prosecutors, McCluskey and his co-defendants have been brought to justice.  Our thoughts are with the victims and their family.”

“The men and women on this jury dedicated the last six months of their lives to performing a very difficult, but necessary, civil service.  I respect their verdict and thank them for their personal sacrifice,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough.  “Hopefully, the fact that John Charles McCluskey has been found guilty of every count charged and will now spend the rest of his life in prison with no possibility of parole will bring some measure of comfort and closure to the friends and family Gary and Linda Haas left behind.  The prosecutors and investigators who so tirelessly have worked toward the pursuit of justice are also to be commended.”

According to the evidence presented at trial, on July 30, 2010, McCluskey and co-defendant Tracy Allen Province, 46, escaped from an Arizona state prison with the aid of co-defendant Casslyn Mae Welch, 47.  On Aug. 2, 2010, McCluskey, Province and Welch carjacked Mr. and Mrs. Haas and their pickup truck and camping trailer at a rest stop off Interstate 40 in Quay County.  McCluskey shot and killed Mr. and Mrs. Haas in the trailer in a remote location east of Tucumcari, N.M.  The three confederates then drove the Haases’ truck and trailer to a remote area in Guadalupe County, N.M., where they unhitched, burned and abandoned the trailer with the Haases’ remains still inside.  On Aug. 4, 2010, the New Mexico State Police discovered the burned remains of Mr. and Mrs. Haas in the trailer.  Province was arrested in Wyoming on Aug. 9, 2010, and McCluskey and Welch were arrested in Arizona on Aug. 19, 2010, following a nationwide, multi-agency manhunt.

The trial evidence also established that McCluskey has the following prior convictions:  convictions in 1993 in Pennsylvania for aggravated assault with a firearm and three armed robberies for which he served 15 years in state custody; convictions in 2009 in Arizona for attempted second degree murder and aggravated assault with a firearm, for which he received a 15-year state prison sentence in Arizona; and convictions in 2011 in Arizona for escape, kidnapping, armed robbery, aggravated assault, and felon in possession of a firearm, for which he received a 43-year prison sentence to run consecutive to his 15-year sentence.

On Jan. 20, 2012, Province and Welch each entered a guilty plea to numerous crimes arising out of the carjacking and murder of Mr. and Mrs. Haas, and both testified during the guilt phase of McCluskey’s trial.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, Province will be sentenced to five consecutive terms of life imprisonment without the possibility of release.  Welch faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment under her plea agreement.  Both remain in custody pending their sentencing hearings, which have yet to be scheduled.

“A long, painful ordeal for the Haas family has finally come to an end. Nothing we can do or say here today can return Gary and Linda Haas to their loved ones, but we hope this sentence gives them some measure of closure,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee.  “I would like to recognize the FBI investigators and support personnel who contributed to this case, as well as the federal prosecutors, victim/witness specialists, the New Mexico State Police, and U.S. Marshals Service.  The Albuquerque FBI Division will continue to combat violent crime in our big cities and small towns by working closely with our state and local partners.”

“I hope the conviction of John McCluskey brings a sense of closure to the family of Gary and Linda Haas,” said New Mexico State Police Chief Pete N. Kassetas.  “This was a difficult and complex investigation but is yet another example of the exemplary relationship the New Mexico State Police maintains with our Federal law enforcement partners.  I would like to thank the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Attorney’s Office, the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice and all the other New Mexico and Arizona law enforcement agencies that participated in the investigation, capture of John McCluskey and subsequent successful prosecution.” 

The case was investigated by Albuquerque and Phoenix Divisions of the FBI and the New Mexico State Police.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Linda Mott and Gregory J. Fouratt of the District of New Mexico, and Trial Attorney Michael S. Warbel of the Criminal Division’s Capital Case Section.

ALBUQUERQUE – Iris Peterson, 65, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation residing in Mescalero, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to theft from an Indian Tribal Organization. 

Peterson entered a guilty plea to a felony information and admitted embezzling $8,695.00 in funds belonging to the Mescalero Apache Nation between Jan. 2007 and Dec. 2011.  During that time, Peterson was a supervisory social worker employed by the BIA Mescalero Social Services Program.  Peterson admitted cashing checks intended for juvenile clients who were receiving services from the Social Services Program and using the funds for her personal use.

Peterson entered her guilty plea pursuant to a plea agreement that requires her to pay restitution in the amount of $8,695.00.  Under the terms of the plea agreement, the United States will not oppose a sentence of probation if Peterson is ordered to pay restitution.  Peterson was released under pretrial supervision pending her sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of the Interior and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Novaline D. Wilson.

ALBUQUERQUE – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against St. James Tearoom, Inc. and its owners, Mary Alice and Daniel Higbie, after an investigation by the Wage and Hour Division found that the defendants violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  The lawsuit seeks to recover unpaid minimum wages, overtime, pay and liquidation damages totaling $304,000, as well as an injunction to permanently prohibit the defendants from committing future FLSA violations.  The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico.

“When employers fail to pay the required minimum and overtime wages, it negatively impacts not just the workers and their families, but also other businesses and the community.   Underpaying workers gives this business an unfair competitive edge against employers who abide by the law,” said Cynthia Watson, regional administrator for the division in the Southwest.  “This lawsuit demonstrates that the department is fully committed to using all enforcement tools at its disposal to ensure that workers are paid all wages due under the laws we enforce.”

Investigators from the division’s Albuquerque District Office found that St. James Tearoom required that its dishwashers and serving staff join a tip pool, resulting in minimum wage violations.  The mandatory tip pool included salaried managers, shift leaders, dishwashers, and other employees who are not eligible for tip pools, making the defendants’ entire tip pool arrangement invalid.  Defendants also failed to keep accurate records of hours worked by employees, resulting in record-keeping violations.

Under the FLSA, the employer may consider tips as part of wages, but the employer must pay at least $2.13 per hour in direct wages.  The employer who elects to use the tip credit provision must inform the employee in advance and must show that the employee receives at least the applicable minimum wage of $7.25 when direct wages and tip credit are combined.  If an employee’s tips, combined with the employer’s direct wages of at least $2.13 an hour do not equal the minimum hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference.  Employees must retain all their tips, except to the extent that they participate in a valid tip pool of sharing arrangement.

Colleen B. Nabhan of the Office of the Solicitor, U.S. Department of Labor, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael H. Hoses of the District of New Mexico are litigating the case on behalf of the Labor Department.

• Indictment

ALBUQUERQUE – Roman Salsberry Huerta, 44, and Dean Tommy Cole, 23, both of Rio Rancho, N.M., made their initial appearances in federal court this morning on criminal complaints charging them with synthetic drug trafficking offenses.  Both men remain in custody pending detention hearings scheduled for Dec. 9, 2013.

Huerta and Cole were arrested by DEA agents and officers of the Rio Rancho Police Department on criminal complaints charging the two with conspiracy to distribute controlled substance analogues, commonly known as “Spice,” and distribution of Spice.  Huerta also is charged with possession of Spice with intent to distribute and with maintaining two drug-involved premises.

According to the criminal complaints, Huerta is the owner of Smoke World, a business located on Southern Blvd. in Rio Rancho, and Cole is employed at Smoke World.  The complaints allege that Huerta sold Spice to an informant in the Smoke World premises in May 2013, and that Cole sold Spice to the informant in the premises on two occasions in summer of 2013. 

The complaints state that on Aug. 8, 2013, law enforcement authorities executed a federal search warrant at Huerta’s Rio Rancho residence where they allegedly found a Spice manufacturing facility with all the equipment and ingredients necessary to manufacture and distribute Spice.  The authorities also allegedly found two large caches of cash in the residence, $102,000 in a lock box hidden under dirty clothes in a hamper and $4,059 in a lock box in a bedroom closet, which they seized as alleged proceeds from the sale of Spice.

Also on Aug. 8, 2013, law enforcement authorities executed a federal search warrant at Smoke World where they allegedly seized substances believed to be Spice that were packaged for retail sale and in bulk form.  The packaged substances allegedly were packaged similarly to Spice allegedly found in Huerta’s residence.

If convicted on the charges in the criminal complaints, Huerta and Cole each face maximum penalties of twenty years in prison.  Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations.  Criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and the Rio Rancho Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel R. Meyers.

Background on Designer Synthetic Drugs

Designer synthetic drugs are often marketed as herbal incense, potpourri, bath salts, jewelry cleaner, or plant food, and have caused significant abuse, addiction, overdoses, and emergency room visits. Those who have abused synthetic drugs have suffered vomiting, anxiety, agitation, irritability, seizures, hallucinations, tachycardia, elevated blood pressure, and loss of consciousness. They have caused significant organ damage as well as overdose deaths.

Smokable herbal blends marketed as being “legal” and providing a marijuana-like high have become increasingly popular, particularly among teens and young adults, because they are easily available and, in many cases, they are more potent and dangerous than marijuana.  These products consist of plant material that has been impregnated with dangerous psychoactive compounds that mimic THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. Synthetic cannabinoids are sold at a variety of retail outlets, in head shops and over the Internet.   Brands such as “Spice,” “K2,” “Blaze,” and “Red X Dawn” are labeled as incense to mask their intended purpose. In 2012, a report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reported 11,406 emergency department visits involving a synthetic cannabinoid product during 2010. In a 2013 report, SAMHSA reported the number of emergency department visits in 2011 involving a synthetic cannabinoid product had increased 2.5 times to 28,531. The American Association of Poison Control Centers reported 5,205 calls related to human exposure of synthetic cannabinoids.

For the past several years, there has also been a growing use of, and interest in, synthetic cathinones (stimulants/hallucinogens) sold under the guise of “bath salts” or “plant food.” Marketed under names such as “Ivory Wave,” “Purple Wave,” “Vanilla Sky,” or “Bliss,” these products are comprised of a class of dangerous substances perceived to mimic cocaine, LSD, MDMA, and/or methamphetamine. Users have reported impaired perception, reduced motor control, disorientation, extreme paranoia, and violent episodes. The long-term physical and psychological effects of use are unknown but potentially severe. The American Association of Poison Control Centers reported 2,656 calls related to synthetic cathinone (“bath salts”) exposures in 2012 and overdose deaths have been reported as well.

These products have become increasingly popular, particularly among teens and young adults and those who mistakenly believe they can bypass the drug testing protocols of employers and government agencies to protect public safety.  They are sold at a variety of retail outlets, in head shops, and over the Internet. However, they have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for human consumption or for medical use, and there is no oversight of the manufacturing process.

Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement Act

While many of the designer drugs being marketed today are not specifically prohibited in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement Act of 1986 (AEA) allows many of these drugs to be treated as controlled substances if they are proven to be chemically and/or pharmacologically similar to a Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance. 

DEA has used its emergency scheduling authority to combat both synthetic cathinones (the so-called “bath salts” with names like Ivory Wave, etc.) and synthetic cannabinoids (the so-called incense products like K2, Spice, etc.), temporarily placing several of these dangerous chemicals into Schedule I of the CSA. Congress has also acted, permanently placing 26 substances into Schedule I of the CSA in 2012.

For more information about this operation and synthetic designer drugs, visit www.dea.gov.

ALBUQUERQUE – David Garcia, 40, of Rio Rancho, N.M., was sentenced today to five years in federal prison for using and carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking offense.  Garcia will be on supervised release for three years after he completes his prison sentence.

Garcia was arrested in Jan. 2013 on a three-count indictment charging him with (1) being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition; (2) possession of methamphetamine with intent; and (3) using and carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  According to the indictment, Garcia committed these offenses on May 23, 2012.  At the time, Garcia was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of conspiracy to traffic in cocaine in the 1st Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico.

In Sept. 2013, Garcia pled guilty to count 3 of the indictment.  In entering his guilty plea, Garcia admitted that on May 23, 2012, he possessed a 9mm pistol in addition to possessing methamphetamine which he intended to distribute.  Garcia admitted that he possessed the pistol in order to protect himself and his methamphetamine. 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Rio Rancho Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David M. Walsh and Louis E. Valencia.

ALBUQUERQUE – Javier J. Reyes, 19, of the Village of Santa Clara in Grant County, N.M., pleaded guilty in Las Cruces federal court today to firearms charges.  Reyes entered his guilty plea without the benefit of a plea agreement.

Reyes and his co-defendant Gabriel Saiz, 20, of Silver City, N.M., were charged with possession of an unregistered firearm in a criminal complaint filed on March 1, 2013.  The two subsequently were indicted and charged with possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.  According to the indictment, Saiz and Reyes possessed a firearm made from a Mossberg .22 caliber rifle with a barrel length of less than 16 inches and an obliterated serial number on Nov. 27, 2012, in Grant County, N.M.

According to court filings, Reyes and Saiz were arrested on local charges by the Silver City Police Department on Nov. 27, 2012, in Silver City after they robbed a woman at gunpoint at approximately 7:30 p.m. that day and allegedly assaulted four individuals by brandishing a firearm at them approximately an hour later.  The officers were able to apprehend Reyes and Saiz at approximately 9:00 p.m. that night because the victim of the armed robbery provided the license plate number for the vehicle in which Reyes and Reyes were driving.  When the officers arrested the men, they observed a firearm on the floor board under the front passenger seat. 

Reyes was released pending trial following his arrest.  While on release, Reyes was arrested again on Oct. 25, 2013, on a criminal complaint charging him with receiving a firearm while under indictment.  According to the complaint, Reyes was arrested on Oct. 4, 2013, on state charges at a dormitory of the Western New Mexico University campus by officers who responded to reports of a man with a gun.  At the time of his arrest, Reyes had a firearm in the front waistband of his pants.  Reyes has been in custody since this second arrest.

During today’s proceedings, Reyes pled guilty to the indictment charging him with possession of the unregistered short-barreled rifle with the obliterated serial number.  He also pled guilty to a felony information charging him with receiving a firearm while under indictment.  At sentencing, Reyes faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison for possession of an unregistered firearm, five years in prison for possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, and five years in prison for receiving a firearm while under indictment.  He remains in custody pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

Saiz, Reyes’ co-defendant, pleaded guilty in Sept. 2013 to both counts of the indictment.  He faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison for possession of an unregistered firearms and a maximum penalty of five years in prison for possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.  He remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has not been scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Silver City Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

ALBUQUERQUE – Two members of the Navajo Nation who reside in Thoreau, N.M., have entered guilty pleas to federal assault charges under plea agreements with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  Aldo Jones, 30, entered his guilty plea on Dec. 4, 2013, and his brother Eddie Jones, Jr., III, 23, entered his guilty plea yesterday afternoon.

Aldo and Eddie Jones were arrested in early Aug. 2013, based on a criminal complaint charging them with assault charges arising out of an attack on a 21-year-old Navajo man in Crownpoint, N.M., on July 28, 2013.  According to court filings, Aldo and Eddie Jones assaulted the victim for failing to pay a $50 debt.  Aldo repeatedly stabbed the victim in the head, upper back and right hand with a screwdriver, and both he and Eddie pummeled the victim with their fists.  The victim sustained a life-threatening injury to his head where his skull was punctured.  He also sustained stab wounds to his upper back and right hand and a broken nose.

Aldo and Eddie Jones subsequently were charged in a four-count indictment with assault resulting in serious bodily injury and assault with a dangerous weapon arising from the assault on the 21-year-old victim.  Aldo Jones also was charged with two assault charges arising out of an attack on a second victim on July 28, 2013, in Littlewater, N.M.

On Dec. 4, 2013, Aldo Jones pled guilty to two assault charges and admitted assaulting the two victims on July 28, 2013.  He admitted assaulting the first victim at approximately 5:00 p.m. by stabbing him with a screwdriver.  Aldo Jones also admitted stabbing the second victim with a knife approximately two hours later when the second victim confronted him about stabbing his cousin, the first victim.  At sentencing, Aldo Jones faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison on each assault charge.  He remains in custody pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

During yesterday’s proceedings, Eddie Jones entered a guilty plea to assaulting the first victim.  In his plea agreement, Eddie Jones admitted beating the victim who also was stabbed by Aldo Jones.  At sentencing, Eddie Jones faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison for each assault charge.  He remains in custody pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

The case was investigated by the Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul H. Spiers.

ALBUQUERQUE – This afternoon, a federal judge sentenced John W. Vandermeer, 63, of Albuquerque, N.M., to 15 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for his child pornography charges.  He also was fined $10,000.00.  Vandermeer will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence. 

The sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough, Special Agent in Charge Dennis A. Ulrich, II, of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, Texas, and Chief Peter N. Kassetas of the New Mexico State Police (NMSP).

Vandermeer was arrested in Dec. 2012, on a criminal complaint alleging that he received and possessed child pornography in Bernalillo County, N.M., between Jan. 2011 and Nov. 2012.  He subsequently was indicted and charged with three counts of receipt of child pornography and two counts of possession of child pornography.  The indictment alleged that Vandermeer received child pornography from Jan. 2009 through April 16, 2011 and that he possessed child pornography in Dec. 2012, in Bernalillo County.

On July 30, 2013, Vandermeer entered a guilty plea to a receipt of child pornography charge.  In his plea agreement, Vandermeer acknowledged that HSI and NMSP executed a search warrant at his residence on Dec. 4, 2012, and seized computers and computer-related media.  The search warrant was issued based on an undercover investigation by the NMSP that began in Nov. 2012, and revealed that an IP address subscribed to Vandermeer was being used to download child pornography images and videos through a peer-to-peer file-sharing program. 

During his plea hearing, Vandermeer also acknowledged voluntarily participating in a recorded interview on Dec. 4, 2012, during which he admitted downloading child pornography images and videos of prepubescent children.  He also admitted having a prior conviction for raping a child under the age of 14 years and that he moved from Massachusetts to Albuquerque in 1987 after he was convicted of child rape.  Vandermeer also stated that he was involved in Albuquerque theater productions involving children. 

Vandermeer received an enhanced sentence of 15 years in prison because of his prior sex offense conviction.  As required by plea agreement, Vandermeer was ordered to forfeit his computers and computer-related media.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of HSI, the Online Predator Unit of the NMSP and the New Mexico Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory.  It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Lizarraga and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Charlyn E. Rees as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.

The case also was brought as a part of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico.  There are 64 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office.  Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.

ALBUQUERQUE – Maria Stovall, 49, of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning to an indictment charging her with bank robbery. 

Stovall was arrested on September 27, 2013, on a criminal complaint charging her with robbing the Washington Federal Bank located at 1301 Wyoming Blvd. NE, in Albuquerque that day.  She subsequently was indicted on a bank robbery charge.

During today’s proceedings, Stovall entered a guilty plea to the indictment and admitted robbing Washington Federal Bank on September 27, 2013, by passing a handwritten note demanding money to a bank teller.  Court filings reflect that as Stovall fled from the bank with the cash, a bank manager followed her to a nearby hospital where he confronted Stovall and took the backpack that Stovall was carrying.  Stovall was arrested by officers of the Albuquerque Police Department shortly thereafter.

Stovall remains on conditions of release at a half-way house pending her sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.  At sentencing, Stovall faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Albuquerque Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Brawley.

ALBUQUERQUE – Manuel Torrez, 33, of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning to an indictment charging him with carjacking.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, Torrez will be sentenced to 84 months in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

Torrez was indicted in April 2013, and charged with using force to take an automobile from another person in Bernalillo County, N.M., on March 17, 2013.  During his plea hearing, Torrez pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on March 17, 2013, he forcefully yanked a woman out of her truck, pushed the victim to the ground after a brief struggle, took the victim’s car keys, and drove away in her truck. 

Torrez was arrested on local charges shortly after the carjacking and was held in state custody until he was transferred to federal custody in July 2013.  He remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

Torrez was prosecuted as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution.  Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

The case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Albuquerque Police Department, with assistance from the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon K. Stanford.

ALBUQUERQUE – James Olsson, 60, of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning to a two-count indictment charging him with possession of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, Olsson will be sentenced to ten years in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release.  Olsson will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence. 

The indictment charged Olsson with possession of child pornography on April 11, 2013, in Bernalillo County, N.M.  According to court filings, on that day, a state probation officer learned that Olsson possessed child pornography during a routine field visit with Olsson at his residence.  Olsson was on probation for failure to register as a sex offender as required by his 2009 state court conviction for possession of child pornography.  Olsson was arrested on state charges that day and was in state custody until he was transferred to federal custody on June 26, 2013.

In his plea agreement, Olsson admitted that while on probation for failure to register as a sex offender, he obtained child pornography images and videos from the Internet.  Olsson further admitted that he had been collecting child pornography for approximately six months prior to his arrest in April 2013. 

Olsson must serve an enhanced sentence of not less than ten years in prison because of his prior child pornography conviction.  Olsson has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the New Mexico Corrections Department Probation and Parole, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Lizarraga.

The case was filed as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.

The case also was brought as part of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico.  There are 64 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office.  Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.

ALBUQUERQUE – Quentin Scott Veneno, 27, pleaded guilty this morning to a domestic assault by a habitual offender charge under a plea agreement that requires him to serve a 27 month federal prison sentence.  Veneno’s guilty plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough and Police Chief Kendall P. Vicenti of the Jicarilla Apache Tribal Police Department.

Veneno, a member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation who resides in Dulce, N.M., was arrested on Sept. 19, 2013, based on an indictment alleging that he assaulted his domestic partner, also a member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, in Nov. 2012.  Veneno was charged federally as a habitual domestic violence offender because he has two prior domestic violence convictions in the Jicarilla Apache Nation Court.

This morning, Veneno pled guilty to the indictment and admitted assaulting his intimate partner and the mother of his child by striking her in the face multiple times with a closed fist and biting her on the neck.  Veneno further admitted that he committed this crime on Nov. 8, 2012, in a location within the Jicarilla Apache Reservation.  Veneno also admitted that he previously was convicted on domestic violence charges on two occasions in 2009 before the Jicarilla Apache Nation Court.

Veneno has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Jicarilla Apache Tribal Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney David Adams.  It was brought pursuant to the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.

ALBUQUERQUE – Deluvino Elias Salazar, 30, of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning to an indictment charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute under a plea agreement that requires the imposition of a 135-month prison sentence.

Salazar was arrested on Oct. 7, 2012, as the result of a law enforcement operation by agents of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and officers of the Albuquerque Police Department’s Westside Narcotics Unit.  During the operation, officers observed Salazar place a plastic bag into a vehicle and get into the front passenger seat.  Shortly thereafter, the officers executed a traffic stop on the vehicle and seized the plastic bag, which held three plastic containers filled with methamphetamine.

In his plea agreement, Salazar admitted that on Oct. 7, 2012, he met with an individual who, unbeknownst to him, was a confidential informant with the intention of distributing methamphetamine to him.  Salazar further admitted bringing a plastic bag holding three plastic containers which contained methamphetamine to the meeting.  Salazar also acknowledged that a forensic chemist determined that the plastic containers held an aggregate of 1330.89 grams of methamphetamine, including 998.16 grams of pure methamphetamine. 

            This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of HSI and the Albuquerque Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Holland S. Kastrin and Novaline D. Wilson.

ALBUQUERQUE – Julisa Raelynn Sanchez, 20, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Peralta, N.M., pleaded guilty today to an involuntary manslaughter charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Sanchez was arrested on May 22, 2013, on a criminal complaint charging her with involuntary manslaughter and assault charges arising out of a May 11, 2013, single car motor vehicle crash occurring on Isleta Pueblo lands.  She subsequently was indicted and charged with involuntary manslaughter and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.

Court filings reflect that in the early hours of May 11, 2013, Sanchez lost control of the vehicle she was driving, drove the vehicle into a water-filled irrigation ditch, and slammed into a cement pillar in the Chicala lateral ditch bank in Isleta Pueblo.  At the time of the crash, there were three passengers in Sanchez’s vehicle, two of whom were seriously injured, and a third, a 26-year-old Isleta Pueblo man (victim), who was pronounced dead at the scene.  Sanchez was driving while intoxicated when the crash occurred.

Today, Sanchez entered a guilty plea to Count 1 of the indictment charging her with involuntary manslaughter.  Sanchez admitted that she killed the victim while driving while under the influence of alcohol on May 11, 2012.

Sanchez remains on conditions of release pending her sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.  Sanchez faces a maximum penalty of eight years of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release and restitution as ordered by the Court.

This case was investigated by the Southern Pueblos Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback.

ALBUQUERQUE – Clay O’Brien Mann, 29, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, N.M., was sentenced this afternoon to 171 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on involuntary manslaughter, assault and firearms charges.  Mann also was ordered to pay $40,003.00 in restitution to the victims of his crimes.

Mann’s sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough, Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI, and Director John Billison of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety.

Mann was arrested in July 2010, on a criminal complaint alleging that he killed a Navajo man and assaulted another Navajo man and a Navajo woman with a dangerous weapon on the Navajo Indian Reservation, on July 24, 2010.  Mann subsequently was indicted and charged with first degree murder, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily injury, two counts of assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and three counts of discharging a firearm in furtherance of an act of violence.  Proceedings in the case were delayed by competency proceedings.

Trial of the case began on July 8, 2013, and concluded five days later when the jury returned a verdict finding Mann not guilty on the first degree murder charge but guilty on the lesser included charge of involuntary manslaughter.  The jury also found Mann guilty on two counts of assault resulting in serious bodily injury and two counts of discharging a firearm in furtherance of an act of violence.  It acquitted Mann on two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily injury and the third firearms charge.  The court subsequently vacated the conviction on one of the firearms counts.

The evidence at trial established that, at approximately 4:00 a.m. on July 24, 2010, an inebriated Mann drove his car to his neighbor’s property and launched an artillery shell into the neighbor’s property where the neighbor and his friends were socializing.  When Ames Joseph Jim and another man and a woman walked over to see what was going on, Mann fired a semi-automatic rifle at them, shooting Mr. Jim in the face and heart, the other man in the face and the woman in the neck.  Mr. Jim died as a result of his injuries and the other two victims were seriously injured.

This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Presiliano A. Torrez.

ALBUQUERQUE – Christopher Albert Apalategui, 45, of Las Cruces, N.M., was sentenced earlier today to 15 years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for his conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  Apalategui received an enhanced sentence because of his status as an armed career criminal.

Apalategui’s sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough, 3rd Judicial District Attorney Mark D’Antonio, Special Agent in Charge Bernard J. Zapor of the Phoenix Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Doña Ana County Sheriff Todd Garrison. 

Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough said that Apalategui was prosecuted as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution.  Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

Apalategui was arrested in May 2012, on a federal criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  He subsequently was indicted on that same charge in Nov. 2012.  According to court filings, Apalategui was unlawfully in possession of a firearm and ammunition on April 8, 2012, in Doña Ana County, N.M.  At the time, Apalategui was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of several felony offenses, including burglary in Oregon and burglary, aggravated robbery and illegal possession of firearms in Arizona.

Court filings reflect that, in the early hours of April 8, 2012, Doña Ana County Sheriff’s deputies executed a traffic stop of a vehicle driven pulled Apalategui after learning that there was an outstanding arrest warrant for the registered owner of the vehicle.  The deputies determined that Apalategui was not the owner of the vehicle, but arrested Apalategui after learning that there were three outstanding warrants for his arrest.  During an inventory search of the vehicle, the deputies found a loaded .45 caliber handgun with a 10-round clip in a gun box and two plastic baggies containing a substance later determined to be heroin.

Apalategui was prosecuted by federal authorities on firearms charges and by state authorities on a heroin possession charge.  In Sept. 2012, Apalategui pled guilty to a possession of a controlled substance charge in the 3rd Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico, and is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 3, 2013.

"Our partnership with the U. S. Attorney’s Office is integral to reducing the violence in southern New Mexico.  It is imperative to remove armed felons from our community," said 3rd Judicial District Attorney Mark D’Antonio.
           
Special Agent in Charge Bernard J. Zapor of the Phoenix Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said, “Today’s sentencing of Apalategui should serve as a harsh reminder to habitual criminals that gun crime will equal hard time.  ATF will not tolerate the illegal possession of firearms by prohibited persons.  I want to commend Acting U.S. Attorney Yarbrough and Doña Ana County Sheriff Todd Garrison for their partnership and support.”

“Today’s sentencing reinforces the efforts of all law enforcement to work together for a common cause – to remove threats in our communities who clearly cannot function in society and obey the law,” said Doña Ana County Sheriff Todd Garrison.  “Hopefully this send a message that in New Mexico, career criminals will be put out of business and in Doña Ana County, we will continue to do our part to ensure that.”

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Luis A. Martinez of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

ALBUQUERQUE – Kirby Cleveland, 29, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Casamero Lake, N.M., was sentenced this morning to two years in federal prison for his assault conviction.  He will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.

Cleveland was arrested in July 2012, based on a criminal complaint and subsequently indicted and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and aggravated burglary.  According to the criminal complaint, on May 14, 2012, Cleveland forcefully entered into a residence located on the Navajo Indian Reservation, armed with a baseball bat and assaulted a Navajo woman.

In July 2013, Cleveland pleaded guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury and admitted assaulting the victim on May 14, 2012, at her family’s home.  According to his plea agreement, Cleveland went to the victim’s home looking for individuals who had threatened him earlier in the day.

This case was investigated by the Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob Wishard and Novaline D. Wilson.

ALBUQUERQUE – Kenneth Morral, 32, of Alamogordo, N.M., was sentenced this morning to 100 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for robbing the First New Mexico Bank in Hatch, N.M., on Oct. 19, 2012.

Court filings reflect that the First New Mexico Bank was robbed on Oct. 19, 2012, by two men who approached two bank tellers and verbally demanded money.  After obtaining money from the bank tellers, the men drove away in a grey colored vehicle.  On Oct. 21, 2012, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported to the FBI the discovery of an abandoned car that matched the description of the getaway car.  The FBI found evidence in the vicinity of the vehicle linking it to the bank robbery and a check of the vehicle’s VIN led investigators to Ricky J. Garcia, 49, of Los Lunas, N.M.  Garcia was arrested on Oct. 22, 2012, after sources identified him as one of the men who perpetrated the bank robbery.  Garcia pleaded guilty to bank robbery on Jan. 15, 2013. 

Morral was identified as the other bank robber by a source on Oct. 25, 2012, and was arrested in Gallup, N.M., by the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office on Nov. 14, 2012.  Morral pleaded guilty to a bank robbery charge on May 15, 2013.

Jacleen Lorraine Henderson, 30, of Los Lunas, assisted Garcia and Morral in the aftermath of the bank robbery awhen Garcia’s vehicle broke down by arranging for them to be picked up and by using proceeds of the bank robbery to purchase a vehicle and other items.  Henderson was arrested on Nov. 1, 2012, and charged with being an accessory after the fact.  She pleaded guilty to that charge on Jan. 29, 2013, and was sentenced on July 23, 2013, to 15 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Luis A. Martinez and E. Garreth Winstead of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office, and investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI and the Hatch Police Department with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office.

ALBUQUERQUE – Erik Bilal Khan, 33, of Las Cruces, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning in Albuquerque federal court to federal child pornography charges, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough, Special Agent in Charge Dennis A. Ulrich, II, of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, Texas, and Chief Richard S. Williams of the Las Cruces Police Department.

Khan pleaded guilty to a four-count superseding indictment charging him with distribution of child pornography, receipt of child pornography, possession of child pornography, and attempted production of child pornography.  The guilty plea was entered under a plea agreement that permits Khan to appeal from the district court’s order denying his motion to suppress the evidence obtained from his residence as the result of a search warrant.

Khan was employed as a basketball coach at a Las Cruces middle school when he was arrested on child pornography charges in May 2012, after law enforcement officers executed a state district court search warrant at Khan’s residence and seized computer and computer-related media from Khan’s bedroom that contained images and videos of child pornography.  In Nov. 2012, Khan was indicted and charged with distributing, receiving and possessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  A superseding indictment filed in July 2013 added an attempted production of child pornography charge.

In his plea agreement, Khan admitted that from May 2009 to May 2012, he knowingly distributed images and videos of child pornography images.  He also admitted knowingly receiving images and videos of child pornography from March 2008 to May 2012.  Khan further acknowledged that he knowingly possessed child pornography between July 2008 and May 2012.  Finally, Khan admitted that from Sept. 2009 to May 2010, he attempted to persuade a person he believed to be a minor male to produce child pornography for his (Khan’s) use.  Khan communicated with the person by email and sent him videos and images of child pornography to induce him to produce child pornography images of himself.  Khan committed these crimes in Dona Ana County, N.M.

Khan has been in federal custody since his arrest in May 2012 and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.  At sentencing, Khan faces a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison on the distribution and receipt of child pornography charges.  Khan also faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the possession of child pornography charge, and a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 40 years in prison on the attempted production of child pornography charge.  Khan will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.

Khan also will be required to serve a term of supervised release to be determined by the court and pay restitution to the victims of his crimes as ordered by the court.  Khan’s plea agreement also requires him to forfeit 66 computers, computer-related media, cellular telephones, cameras, and other electronic media seized from his residence in May 2012.

Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough praised the prosecutors and investigators who worked on the case.  “Thanks to the in-depth work of the HSI agents and Las Cruces officers and the excellent litigation of the prosecutors handling this case, Erik Khan faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in federal prison for his heinous crime of trafficking in child pornography.”

“HSI special agents work diligently every day to put predators, such as this defendant, behind bars,” said Dennis A. Ulrich, Special Agent in Charge of HSI in El Paso, Texas.  “Together with our state and local law enforcement partners, we continue committed to stop predators in their tracks, so that they no longer pose a threat to the most vulnerable members of our community – our children.  Ulrich oversees HSI operations in the state of New Mexico and west Texas.  He cautions young people to be especially cautious as to the types of images they produce of themselves and forward to others on their cellular phones.

“The Las Cruces Police Department has had a good working relationship with agents from Homeland Security Investigations and this case is a direct result of those strong ties.  We are pleased to see the adjudication of this case, and will continue to work with HSI in an effort to keep our community safe,” said Chief Richard I. Williams of the Las Cruces Police Department.

The case against Kahn was investigated by the HSI, the Las Cruces Police Department and the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Lizarraga of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office and Trial Attorney Ravi Sinha of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia L. Weisman is handling the related forfeiture proceedings.  

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc/.

The case also received support from the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, whose mission is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico.  There are 64 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office.  Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.

ALBUQUERQUE – Last week, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging four alleged members of a methamphetamine trafficking organization operating out of Curry County, N.M.  The indictment was unsealed after the arrests of Michael Montoya, 35, and Dianna Hernandez-Trujillo, 22, of Clovis, N.M., and Alexander J. Page, 26, of Tucumcari, N.M., during a multi-agency law enforcement operation on Nov. 22, 2013.  The fourth defendant, Brian F. Acuna, 22, is in state custody on unrelated charges, and will be transferred to federal custody to face the charges in the indictment.

The indictment was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough, Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI, Special Agent in Charge Dawn Mertz of the Phoenix Field Office of IRS Criminal Investigation, Lt. Michael Reeves of the Curry County Drug Task Force, Curry County Sheriff Matt Murray, Chief Steve Sanders of the Clovis Police Department, and New Mexico State Police Chief Pete N. Kassetas.

The six-count indictment, which alleges narcotics trafficking, money laundering and firearms crimes, is the result of an investigation by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, Curry County Drug Task Force, Curry County Sheriff’s Office, New Mexico State Police and Clovis Police Department that began in Aug. 2011.  Officers seized and obtained approximately seven kilograms of methamphetamine during the investigation.  They also seized approximately $104,446.00 in cash while executing a search warrant during Friday’s law enforcement operation. 

Count 1 of the indictment charges all four defendants with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine in Curry County and other places in New Mexico from Oct. 2007 through Nov. 2013.  Counts 2 through 4 charge Montoya with distributing methamphetamine in Curry County in Oct. 2011, Montoya, Acuna and Hernandez-Trujillo with distributing methamphetamine in Cibola County in March 2012, and Montoya and Page with distributing methamphetamine in Socorro County in Nov. 2012.  Count 5 charges Montoya with money laundering for allegedly using more than $59,000.00 in drug proceeds to purchase real estate in Clovis, and Count 6 charges Acuna with using and carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking offense.

The maximum penalty for a conviction on each of the four methamphetamine trafficking counts is imprisonment for not less than ten years or more than life and a $10,000,000 fine.  The maximum penalty for a conviction on the money laundering count is ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and the penalty for a conviction on the firearms count is a five year term of imprisonment to run consecutive to any other term prison sentence imposed on the related drug trafficking crime.  Charges in indictments are merely accusations and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This morning Hernandez-Trujillo entered a not guilty plea to the indictment and was released pending trial under conditions including pretrial services supervision.  Montoya and Page are scheduled to make their initial appearances in federal court in Roswell, N.M., tomorrow.

In announcing the indictment Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough said, “I am proud of being part of an operation that is a significant step in improving public safety in Curry County.  Together with our law enforcement partners, we will continue our relentless pursuit of meth trafficking rings that operate in our communities throughout New Mexico.”

“Methamphetamine, as Friday’s law enforcement action demonstrates, is not just a big city problem in New Mexico.  Even our rural communities can be victimized,” said Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division.  “The FBI is committed to working closely with our federal, state and local partners to investigate and disrupt drug trafficking organizations, no matter where they are.  I would like to thank the FBI Special Agents involved in this case, as well as the U.S. Attorney's Office, IRS Criminal Investigation, the New Mexico State Police, the Curry County Sheriff's Office, Clovis Police Department and the Curry County Drug Task Force.”

“Laundering illegal drug profits is essential to any narcotics organization.  IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to provide our financial expertise while working alongside our law enforcement partners with the common goal of dismantling drug trafficking operations,” said Dawn Mertz, Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Office of IRS Criminal Investigation.

Lt. Michael Reeves of the Curry County Drug Task Force added, “Friday’s arrests would not be possible without the consistent, cooperative, effort among local, state and federal agencies over the course of many years.  The citizens and law enforcement officers battling illegal drugs in our area have a stake in this case, and contributed to this case.  The arrest of Michael Montoya, and the dismantling of this methamphetamine trafficking organization, will contribute to better quality of life in our community.” 

“For many years, drug traffickers have been a scourge to our community by supplying and trafficking large quantities of illicit drugs,” said Curry County Undersheriff Wesley Waller.  “The damage these individuals have inflicted is immeasurable.  The arrests of Michael Montoya and his alleged criminal organization are a culmination of the extensive and undying efforts by numerous dedicated narcotics investigators in the Clovis area, and a joint action by city, county, state and federal law enforcement. ” 

“I am pleased to see our Federal Partners and the Metro Drug Task Force Agents working in collaboration in identifying and solving the crimes associated with a large narcotics trafficking network,” said Clovis Police Chief Steve Sanders.  “After a long, intense and thorough investigation, this will no doubt have a large impact on the narcotics crimes here in Clovis and Curry County.  I want to thank everyone involved for their dedication and relentless efforts to ensure this network is dismantled, thus making our communities safer places to live, work and play in.”

“The New Mexico State Police actively participate in federal, county, and municipal initiatives that result in safer communities for our residents,” said New Mexico State Police Chief Pete N. Kassetas.  “The New Mexico State Police supports soft and hard measures to prevent the purchase, manufacture, distribution, of methamphetamine; and any other method to combat this illicit drug from the dangers it presents to our New Mexico communities.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean J. Sullivan is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the Roswell office of the FBI, the Albuquerque office of IRS Criminal Investigation, Curry County Drug Task Force, Curry County Sheriff’s Office, New Mexico State Police and Clovis Police Department, with assistance from the Portales Police Department, Socorro County Sheriff’s Office, the DEA and the ATF office in Los Angeles.  In addition to the investigating agencies already identified, the following law enforcement agencies participated in Friday’s law enforcement operation:  the Albuquerque offices of the FBI and DEA, the U.S. Marshal’s Service, and the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office.

The investigation leading to the indictment in this case was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program.  The OCDETF program is a nationwide Department of Justice program that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations.

ALBUQUERQUE – Richard Sedillo, 36, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced earlier today to 51 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for his bank robbery conviction.

Sedillo was arrested on May 30, 2013, based on a criminal complaint charging him with bank robbery, and subsequently was indicted on the same charge on June 12, 2013.  According to the indictment, Sedillo robbed the Bank of Albuquerque branch located in the Albertson’s Supermarket at 10131 Coors Blvd. NE in Albuquerque, on May 30, 2013.

On Aug. 26, 2013, Sedillo entered a guilty plea to the indictment.  In his plea agreement, Sedillo admitted that on May 30, 2013, he approached a bank teller at the Bank and handed the teller a note that “told the teller to hand me money or else I would shoot.”   After the teller gave money to Sedillo, Sedillo left the Bank.

Court records reflect that the teller observed Sedillo get into a truck and provided the truck’s license plate number to law enforcement authorities.  That information led to Sedillo’s arrest later that day as well as the recovery of most of the money taken by Sedillo during the bank robbery.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Albuquerque Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paige Messec.

ALBUQUERQUE – Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough and Bernalillo County Sheriff Dan Houston announced that Jessica A. Tyler, Chief Deputy of the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, has been elected Chairwoman of the Rio Grande Law Enforcement Information Exchange (LInX) Advisory Group.  Deputy Chief Tyler replaces Chief Julian Gonzales of the Bernalillo Police Department, who is retiring after 37 years in law enforcement.

Rio Grande LInX is a federal initiative sponsored by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service that facilitates electronic sharing of law enforcement information among 41 federal state and local law enforcement agencies in New Mexico and west Texas.  The LInX initiative provides participating partner agencies with secure access to regional crime and incident data and the tools needed to process it, enabling investigators to search across jurisdictional boundaries to help solve crimes and resolve suspicious events.  There are nine LInX regions, including the Rio Grande LInX, throughout the United States with over 760 partner agencies.

Deputy Chief Tyler is the first woman to hold the rank of Chief Deputy in the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.  She began her law enforcement career as a patrol officer with the department in 2000 and was named to her current position earlier this year.  In addition to working in the Crimes Against Children Unit, she served as the department’s training coordinator and spent time as a member of the SWAT team as a crisis negotiator.  Deputy Chief Tyler also has served as commander of the internal affairs unit, field services division and criminal investigations division during her career with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.

Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough praised the selection of Deputy Chief Tyler as the new leader of the Rio Grande LInX Advisory Group and said, “Chief Deputy Tyler has long been a tremendous asset to our law enforcement community.   Throughout her distinguished career with the Sheriff’s Office, she has supported numerous local Department of Justice criminal justice initiatives, including Operation Weed and Seed, Project Safe Neighborhoods, and violence reduction training and outreach programs.   I am grateful to Sheriff Dan Houston for his support and the nomination of his Chief Deputy to lead the Rio Grande LInX Advisory Group which provides nationwide support to the law enforcement community.”

“It is an honor for the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office to provide a leader for this important initiative with the appointment of Chief Deputy Tyler,” said Bernalillo County Sheriff Dan Houston.  “Her dedication to the profession of law enforcement is evidenced by her level of education as she has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration.  I know she will continue to lead this initiative with the same professionalism as her predecessor.”