District of New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE – Abner Joe, 55, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to assaulting a federal officer.

 

Joe was arrested on Aug. 10, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with assaulting a federal officer. According to the complaint, Joe assaulted an officer of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety on Aug. 4, 2016, by spitting on her and threatening her with a hammer and a wooden board. At the time of the assault, the tribal officer was commissioned as a Special Federal Officer by the BIA’s Office of Justice Services.

 

Joe was indicted on Aug. 23, 2016, and charged with assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon and assault involving physical contact. The indictment alleged that Joe committed the crimes on Aug. 4, 2016, on the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M.

 

During today’s proceedings, Joe pled guilty to assaulting a federal officer. In entering the guilty plea, Joe admitted that on Aug. 4, 2016, he threatened two uniformed tribal officers as he approached them while holding a raised 2” x 4” board. He also admitted throwing a hammer at one of the tribal officers who was commissioned as a Special Federal Officer by the BIA.

 

At sentencing, Joe faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Murphy is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Rupesh Bhakta, 39, of Farmington, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 24 months in prison for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction. He will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.

 

Bhakta was arrested on March 4, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with trafficking methamphetamine in San Juan County, N.M. According to the complaint, Bhakta sold approximately 57 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement agent on Feb. 16, 2016.

 

Bhakta and co-defendant David Kingsbeck, 43, also of Farmington, were subsequently indicted on March 23, 2016. The indictment charged Kingsbeck with being a felon in possession of a firearm on July 1, 2015 and Dec. 30, 2015, and distributing heroin on Dec. 30, 2015. It also charged and Kingsbeck with conspiracy and distributing methamphetamine on Feb. 16, 2016. According to the indictment, the defendants committed the crimes in San Juan County. Kingsbeck was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition because of his prior felony convictions for criminal conspiracy theft and escape attempt from felony.

 

On Dec. 8, 2016, Bhakta pled guilty to an information charging him with distributing methamphetamine. In entering the guilty plea, Bhakta admitted that on Feb. 16, 2016, he distributed methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement agent.

 

On Dec. 19, 2016, Kingsbeck pled guilty to distributing heroin and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. In his plea agreement, Kingsbeck admitted selling 12.8 grams of heroin and a firearm and ammunition to an undercover law enforcement agent on Dec. 29, 2015. Kingsbeck acknowledged that he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition on Dec. 29, 2015, because of his status as a convicted felon. Kingsbeck was sentenced on May 1, 2017, to 37 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and the New Mexico State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rumaldo R. Armijo prosecuted the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Gerald Herrera, 31, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 60 months in prison for his conviction on firearms and heroin trafficking charges. Herrera will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.

 

Herrera was arrested on April 7, 2016, on an indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, possessing methamphetamine and heroin with intent to distribute, and using and carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. According to the indictment, Herrera committed the offenses on July 8, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M. Herrera was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle, tampering with evidence, possession of cocaine, homicide by vehicle and auto burglary.

 

On Dec. 10, 2016, Herrera pled guilty to possessing heroin with intent to distribute and carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. In entering the guilty plea, Herrera admitted that on July 8, 2015, officers of the Albuquerque Police Department found a firearm, ammunition and individually packaged bags of heroin and methamphetamine on him and in his vehicle during a traffic stop.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Albuquerque Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rumaldo R. Armijo prosecuted the case as part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative was launched in January 2015 by the UNM Health Sciences Center and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in response to the national opioid epidemic, which has had a disproportionately devastating impact on New Mexico. Opioid addiction has taken a toll on public safety, public health and the economic viability of our communities. Working in partnership with the DEA, the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative, Healing Addiction in our Community (HAC), the Albuquerque Public Schools and other community stakeholders, HOPE’s principal goals are to protect our communities from the dangers associated with heroin and opioid painkillers and reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in New Mexico.

 

The HOPE Initiative is comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. HOPE’s law enforcement component is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin and opioid trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative. Learn more about the New Mexico HOPE Initiative at http://www.HopeInitiativeNM.org.

ALBUQUERQUE – Adam Chavez, 35, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to a methamphetamine trafficking charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

 

Chavez was arrested in Feb. 2016, and was charged by criminal complaint with possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Feb. 16, 2016, in Bernalillo County, N.M. According to the complaint, Deputies of the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and Special Agents of the DEA seized three bags containing an aggregate of 934 grams of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia when they executed a state search warrant at Chavez’s residence. Chavez was subsequently indicted on the same charge on March 8, 2016.

 

During today’s proceedings, Chavez pled guilty to the indictment. In entering the guilty plea, Chavez acknowledged that on Feb. 16, 2016, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at his Albuquerque residence. Chavez admitted that as the officers approached his residence, they observed him throw a brown bag containing a shirt, a set of scales and 846 grams of pure methamphetamine from his second floor balcony onto a neighboring rooftop before reentering his residence.

 

At sentencing, Chavez faces a statutory minimum penalty of ten years and a maximum of life in federal prison. Chavez remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander M. Uballez and Timothy S. Vasquez are prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Gilbert Dutchover, 58, of Roswell, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to violating the federal firearms laws. The plea agreement recommends an 18-month prison sentence followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

 

Dutchover was arrested on May 5, 2017, on an indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on Aug. 18, 2014, in Chaves County, N.M. According to the indictment, Dutchover was previously convicted of unlawful carrying of a firearm into a licensed liquor establishment, being a felon in possession of a firearm or destructive device, receiving stolen property and cocaine trafficking.

 

During today’s proceedings, Dutchover pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on Aug. 18, 2014, law enforcement officers located a pistol and ammunition in his garage during the execution of a search warrant on his residence. Dutchover further admitted that he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his status as a convicted felon. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Chaves County Sheriff’s Office and the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Luis A. Martinez and Selesia L. Winston of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office are prosecuting the case.

 

The Pecos Valley Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, Carlsbad Police Department and Artesia Police Department and is part of the HIDTA Region VI Drug Task Force. 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.

ALBUQUERQUE – Aaron Curley, 55, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to an assault charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

 

Curley was arrested in Nov. 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with assaulting a Navajo woman by stabbing her in the leg and sternum area with a knife. Curley was indicted on Dec. 20, 2016, and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, a knife, with intent to do bodily injury and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. According to the indictment, the offenses took place on Nov. 20, 2016, on the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M.

 

During today’s proceedings, Curley pled guilty to Count 1 of the indictment charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon. In entering the guilty plea, Curley admitted that on Nov. 20, 2016, he assaulted the victim by stabbing her in the left leg and caused the victim to sustain cuts to her left arm and hand as she was defending herself.

 

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

 

This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback is prosecuting this case as part of 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 American 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 – Sonya Padilla, 42, of Santa Fe, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a year and a day in prison followed by three years of supervised release for her conviction for attempting to rob a business engaged in interstate commerce.

 

Padilla and co-defendant Michael Crespin, 44, also of Santa Fe, were arrested in May 2014, on a criminal complaint charging them with robbing the First National Bank of Santa Fe located at 4995 Governor Miles Road in Santa Fe on May 5, 2014. According to the complaint, Crespin robbed the bank by brandishing a gun at bank tellers and demanding money. He left the bank with the money and was driven away by Padilla.

 

Crespin and Padilla were indicted on May 21, 2014, and charged with armed bank robbery. A superseding indictment was filed on May 28, 2015, and charged Crespin and Padilla with violating the Hobbs Act on April 28, 2014, in Santa Fe County by attempting to rob the Plaza de Centro America market, and with the armed robbery of the First National Bank of Santa Fe on May 5, 2014, in Santa Fe County.

 

Padilla pled guilty on March 7, 2016, to attempted interference with interstate commerce by robbery and violence and admitted that on April 28, 2014, she and Crespin attempted to rob the Plaza de Centro America market in Santa Fe.

 

On Sept. 4, 2015, Crespin pled guilty to armed bank robbery, and admitted that on May 5, 2014, he robbed the First National Bank of Santa Fe while armed with an airsoft pistol, which he waved around and pointed towards bank tellers while he demanded money. Crespin was sentenced on April 26, 2016, to 13 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

 

This case was investigated by the Santa Fe office of the FBI and the Santa Fe Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David M. Walsh and Norman Cairns prosecuted the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Michael Nakai, 33, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Red Rock, Ariz., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to assaulting a federal officer.

 

Nakai was charged by criminal complaint in Oct. 2016, with assaulting a tribal police officer of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety who was commissioned as a Special Law Enforcement Officer by the BIA’s Office of Justice Services. According to the complaint, Nakai assaulted the officer by kicking the officer in the face following a traffic stop. Nakai subsequently was indicted on Nov. 15, 2016, and was charged with assaulting a federal officer on Oct. 9, 2016, in San Juan County, N.M.

 

During today’s proceedings, Nakai pled guilty to the indictment. In entering the guilty plea, Nakai admitted that on Oct. 9, 2016, he assaulted a federal officer by kicking and striking the officer in the head while the officer was arresting him for driving under the influence of alcohol.

 

At sentencing, Nakai faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Nakai remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Murphy is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – This morning a U.S. Magistrate Judge sitting in Albuquerque, N.M., found probable cause to support a criminal complaint charging Vincent P. Luciani, 25, a non-Indian man from Albuquerque, with assaulting a federal officer. Luciani was released pending trial under pretrial supervision and other conditions of release, including the condition that he reside in a halfway house.

 

Luciani was arrested on July 3, 2017, and was charged by criminal complaint with assaulting an officer of the Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Police Department, who is commissioned as a Special Law Enforcement Officer by the BIA’s Office of Justice Services. According to the complaint, Luciani allegedly assaulted the officer by threatening the officer with a firearm following a routine traffic stop. Luciani allegedly committed the offense on June 30, 2017, on Laguna Pueblo in Cibola County, N.M.

 

If convicted of the charge in the complaint, Luciani faces a maximum penalty of eight years in federal prison. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations. All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

This case was investigated by the Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Raquel Ruiz-Velez.

ALBUQUERQUE – Jesse Chavez, 34, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 46 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for violating the federal firearms laws by unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition.

 

Chavez was charged by criminal complaint on May 27, 2016, with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on May 4, 2016, in Bernalillo County, N.M. According to the criminal complaint, officers of the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office executed an arrest warrant on Chavez on May 4, 2016. During a search incident to arrest, the officers seized a loaded firearm from Chavez.

 

Chavez subsequently was indicted on June 14, 2016, and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. At the time, Chavez was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of first-degree murder in 2000. On Jan. 13, 2017, Chavez pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement.

 

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney George C. Kraehe prosecuted the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – In Aug. 2016, a multi-agency investigation led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) concluded with the filing of 59 federal indictments and a federal criminal complaint charging 104 Bernalillo County residents with federal firearms and narcotics trafficking offenses. To date, 61 of the 104 defendants charged as the result of this investigation have entered guilty pleas and 26 of them have been sentenced. The following seven defendants were sentenced in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., this week:

• Maria Citlaly Beltran-Ahumada, 37, a Mexican national illegally residing in Albuquerque was sentenced on June 26, 2017, on an illegal reentry charge to a term of time-served and is pending deportation;

• Julian Brown, 22, was sentenced on June 27, 2017, to 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for possessing an unregistered firearm;

• Francisco Garcia, 20, was sentenced on June 27, 2017, to 60 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime;

• Inkosi Grandberry, 35, was sentenced on June 28, 2017, to 60 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime;

• Angelica Marie Santiesteban, 40, was sentenced on June 28, 2017, to 63 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for distributing methamphetamine;

• Johnny Flores, 23, was sentenced on June 28, 2017, to 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for distributing methamphetamine; and

• Manuel Boydston, 36, was sentenced yesterday to 60 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for distributing methamphetamine.

 

In addition, Keith Thompson, 48, pled guilty yesterday and his co-defendant Matthew Sandoval, 38, pled guilty today to heroin trafficking charges. Thompson’s plea agreement recommends a sentence of 70 months in prison, and Sandoval’s plea agreement recommends a maximum sentence of 84 months in prison.

 

These nine defendants were amongst the 104 who were charged as the result of the investigation that began in mid-April 2016, when ATF personnel from throughout the country joined forces with federal, state, county and local law enforcement agencies in New Mexico to combat the high rate of violent crime in the Albuquerque metropolitan area. The investigators utilized a number of investigative techniques, including undercover operations, historical investigation and targeting of multi-convicted felons in possession of firearms.

 

The investigation was undertaken in support 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 collaborate with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution primarily based on their prior criminal convictions with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

 

Beltran-Ahumada’s co-defendants Guajira Maya Lovato, 44, Janet Bowman, 40, Anthony Barela, 34, and Juan Jose Rivas, 32, were charged by indictment on July 28, 2016, with distributing methamphetamine. The indictment was superseded on Aug. 9, 2016, to add Beltran-Ahumada as a defendant and an additional conspiracy charge. The superseding indictment charged the five defendants with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine from June 21, 2016 through Aug. 9, 2016, and distributing methamphetamine on June 22, 2016. Beltran-Ahumada pled guilty on June 9, 2017, to an information charging her with illegal reentry of a removed alien, and admitted that she was found to be illegally in Bernalillo County on Aug. 9, 2016, after being deported from the United States on Nov. 8, 2003.

 

Brown was arrested on Aug. 10, 2016, on an indictment charging him with distributing heroin and possessing a firearm not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR). According to the indictment, committed the offenses on July 11, 2016, in Bernalillo County. On Feb. 1, 2017, pled guilty to Count 2 of the indictment charging him with possessing an unregistered firearm. In entering the guilty plea, admitted that on July 11, 2016, he possessed and sold a weapon made from a shotgun not registered to him in the NFRTR.

 

Garcia was arrested on July 8, 2016, and was charged by indictment with firearms and drug trafficking offenses. The indictment was subsequently superseded on July 28, 2016, and charged Garcia with distributing methamphetamine on May 10, 2016 and May 12, 2016, and using and carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. On Jan. 6, 2017, Garcia pled guilty to using and carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime, and admitted that on May 12, 2016, he possessed a firearm during the sale of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement agent. Garcia further admitted carrying the firearm for protection and to assist him in his drug trafficking crimes.

 

Grandberry was arrested on July 6, 2016, on a six-count indictment charging him with distributing heroin on April 28, 2016 and April 29, 2016; being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition on April 28, 2016, May 4, 2016 and May 12, 2016; and possessing a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime on April 28, 2016. According to the indictment, Grandberry was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of a previous felony conviction for possession of a controlled substance. On Nov. 2, 2016, Grandberry pled guilty to Count 3 of the indictment charging him with possessing and carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime, and admitted that on April 28, 2016, he was in possession of a pistol loaded

with ammunition while conducting a heroin transaction.

 

Santiesteban and co-defendant Noe Urias, 36, were charged in a four-count indictment filed on June 30, 2016, with methamphetamine trafficking offenses. The indictment was superseded on July 28, 2016, to add Patrick Zamora, 22, and another methamphetamine trafficking charge. The superseding indictment charged the three defendants with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine from May 2, 2016 through June 20, 2016, and distributing methamphetamine on June 20, 2016; Urias and Santiesteban with distributing methamphetamine on May 2, 2016 and May 19, 2016; and Urias with distributing methamphetamine on May 18, 2016. According to the superseding indictment, the defendants committed offenses in Bernalillo County. On Dec. 8, 2016, Santiesteban pled guilty to Count 5 of the superseding indictment charging her with distributing methamphetamine and admitted that on June 20, 2016, she sold approximately 116.8 grams of methamphetamine in exchange for money.

 

Flores and his co-defendant Josue Duarte, 31, were charged in a four-count indictment filed on Aug. 9, 2016, with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine from July 18, 2016 through July 26, 2016, and distribution of methamphetamine on July 22, 2016; Flores with distribution of methamphetamine on July 18, 2016; and Duarte with distribution of methamphetamine on July 26, 2016. On Dec. 6, 2016, Flores pled guilty a felony information charging him with distributing methamphetamine, and admitted that on July 18, 2016, he acted as a medium to facilitate a methamphetamine transaction in exchange for money.

 

Boydston and his co-defendant Thomas Montoya, 40, were charged in a three-count indictment filed on June 30, 2016. The indictment charged Montoya with distribution of methamphetamine on June 6, 2016, and Montoya and Boydston with conspiracy and distribution of methamphetamine on June 14, 2016. On Feb. 6, 2017, Boydston pled guilty to Count 3 of the indictment charging him with distributing methamphetamine, and admitted that on June 14, 2016, he sold approximately 118 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement agent.

 

Thompson and Sandoval were arrested in July 2016, and charged in a two-count indictment with distributing heroin on May 9, 2016, and distributing methamphetamine on May 19, 2016. Thompson entered a guilty plea yesterday and Sandoval entered a guilty plea today to heroin trafficking charges. In entering their guilty pleas, Thompson and Sandoval both admitted that on May 9, 2016, they sold heroin to another individual. They remain in custody pending sentencing hearings, which have yet to be scheduled.

 

The remaining defendants have entered not guilty pleas. Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

 

These cases were investigated by the Albuquerque office of ATF. Assistant U.S. Attorney Presiliano Torrez is prosecuting the cases against Beltran-Ahumada and Boydston; Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Han prosecuted the cases against Brown and Santiesteban; Assistant U.S. Attorney Rumaldo R. Armijo prosecuted the case against Garcia; Assistant U.S. Attorneys David M. Walsh and Norman Cairns prosecuted the case against Grandberry; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul H. Spiers prosecuted the case against Flores. Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel A. Hurtado is prosecuting the case against Thompson and Sandoval.

ALBUQUERQUE – Miguel Angel Arias, 26, of Oxnard, Calif., pled guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to violating the federal firearms and drug trafficking laws.

 

Arias and co-defendant Marco Antonio Valero, 54, also of Oxnard, Calif., were arrested in Jan. 2017, and were charged by criminal complaint with methamphetamine trafficking and firearms offenses on Jan. 26, 2017, in Hidalgo County, N.M. According to the criminal complaint, Special Agents of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and officers of the Lordsburg Police Department arrested Arias and Valero finding eight bundles of methamphetamine weighing approximately 4.2 kilograms (9.26 pounds) and a firearm and ammunition in the defendants’ vehicle during a traffic stop in Lordsburg, N.M.

 

Arias and Valero were subsequently charged on April 19, 2017, in a five-count indictment with participating in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy between Jan. 21, 2017 and Jan. 27, 2017. The indictment also charged Arias with possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and Valero with possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute. At the time, Valero was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted on a marijuana trafficking charge.

 

During today’s proceedings, Arias pled guilty to conspiracy, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. In entering the guilty plea, Arias admitted that on Jan. 26, 2017, law enforcement officers found methamphetamine concealed in his vehicle when he was stopped for speeding and following too closely in Lordsburg. Arias further admitted possessing a handgun, which was located under the driver seat of his vehicle, despite the fact that he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his previous felony conviction.

 

Earlier this month, on June 7, 2017, Valero pled guilty to possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and admitted possessing the methamphetamine that was concealed in the vehicle in which he was a passenger on Jan. 26, 2017.

 

At sentencing, Arias faces a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of ten years and a maximum penalty of life in federal prison, and Valero faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Both men remain in custody pending sentencing hearings, which have yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Lordsburg Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark A. Saltman of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

ALBUQUERQUE – Markell Quashan Sweargin, 19, of Lubbock, Tex., made his initial appearance in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., on a criminal complaint charging him with transporting a person in interstate commerce for the purpose of forcing the person to engage in a commercial sex act. Sweargin remains in federal custody pending a preliminary hearing and detention hearing, both of which have yet to be scheduled.

 

The criminal complaint alleges that on June 14, 2017, officers of the Hobbs Police Department arrested Sweargin on state charges after responding to a domestic disturbance call from a woman (victim) who alleged that Sweargin strangled and assaulted her during an altercation arising from her refusal to engage in a sexual act with another man for money.

 

According to the criminal complaint, Sweargin, the victim and another person traveled from Lubbock to a hotel in Hobbs, N.M. Once in the hotel room, Sweargin allegedly attempted to coerce the victim into having sex with other men for money, and became angry when the victim refused. The complaint further alleges that when Sweargin and the other person left the hotel room, a man came to the room with the expectation of having sex with the victim. When the victim refused to have sex with him, the man departed the room after telling the victim that he had come in response to an advertisement on a webpage known to advertise prostitution services. The complaint alleges that when Sweargin returned to the hotel room, he was very angry because the victim did not have sex with the man in return for money, began to hit the victim, and blocked the door to the hotel room to prevent the victim or the third person from leaving. When Sweargin stepped away from the door, the victim and third person fled.

 

If convicted of the charge in the criminal complaint, Sweargin faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years and a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. Charges in criminal complaints 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 HSI and the Hobbs Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Ong of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Carlos Diaz., 37, of El Paso, Texas, was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., for his conviction on heroin trafficking charges resulting from a DEA-led investigation targeting a heroin trafficking ring operating out of Sunland Park, N.M. Diaz was sentenced to an 18-month term of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release.

 

The DEA’s investigation targeted a heroin trafficking organization led by Raymundo Munoz, 69, of Sunland Park, N.M., that obtained its heroin from Juan Francisco Rivera, 60, of El Paso, Texas. 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.

 

Ten members of the heroin trafficking ring were charged in July 2016, in a 30-count indictment with participation in a heroin trafficking conspiracy and a series of substantive heroin trafficking offenses. The indictment charged all ten defendants with conspiring to distribute heroin in Doña Ana County and elsewhere between May 8, 2016 and July 12, 2016. It also included 23 counts charging certain defendants with distributing heroin or possessing heroin with intent to distribute and six counts charging certain defendants with using communications devices (telephones) to facilitate heroin trafficking crimes.

 

According to the indictment, Rivera routinely supplied Muñoz with heroin, in quantities ranging from two to nine ounces, which was smuggled by couriers into the United States across the international border in El Paso. Muñoz took the heroin to his Sunland Park residence where he distributed the drugs to others. Members of the conspiracy used telephones to negotiate their heroin deals, arrange for heroin deliveries, and pay for the heroin.

 

On Jan. 24, 2017, Diaz pled guilty to Count 1 of the indictment charging him with conspiracy to possess heroin with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Diaz admitted that on May 13, 2016, he asked a male individual on the phone to obtain two ounces of heroin for Diaz from a source of supply in Mexico. Diaz further admitted that the male individual placed the order for heroin with the source of supply and a female courier smuggled the heroin across the border into the United States. Diaz then met the male individual and obtained the two ounces of heroin from him.

 

The following defendants previously entered guilty pleas in the case:

• Alberto Lozano-Morales, 43, of Sunland Park, pled guilty on Dec. 6, 2016, and was sentenced on May 24, 2017 to time served followed by one year of supervised release;

• Blanca Elisa Tovar, 42, of El Paso, Texas, pled guilty on Dec. 13, 2016, and faces a sentence of 24 months in prison under the terms of her plea agreement;

• Juan Francisco Rivera pled guilty on Feb. 7, 2017, and faces a sentence of 108 months in prison under the terms of his plea agreement;

• Armando Daniel Marquez, 54 of Sunland Park, N.M., pled guilty on Feb. 23, 2017, and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years under the terms of his plea agreement.

• Munoz pled guilty on March 1, 2017, and faces a sentence of 72 months in prison under the terms of his plea agreement;

• Eleodoro Sanchez, 62, of Canutillo, Texas, pled guilty on March 7, 2017, and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years under the terms of his plea agreement; and

• Sandra Francis Guzman, 53, of El Paso, Texas, pled guilty on March 21, 2017, and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years under the terms of her plea agreement.

 

One of the two remaining co-defendants has entered a plea of not guilty to the charges in the indictment; the second has yet to be arrested and is considered a fugitive. Charges in indictments and criminal complaints are only accusations. All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

The Las Cruces office of the DEA and Sunland Police Department investigated these cases with assistance from the El Paso office of the FBI, the U.S. Border Patrol, and the Gang Unit of the El Paso Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dustin C. Segovia and Renee L. Camacho of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office are prosecuting these cases as part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative.

 

The HOPE Initiative was launched in January 2015 by the UNM Health Sciences Center and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in response to the national opioid epidemic, which has had a disproportionately devastating impact on New Mexico. Opioid addiction has taken a toll on public safety, public health and the economic viability of our communities. Working in partnership with the DEA, the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative, Healing Addiction in our Community (HAC), the Albuquerque Public Schools and other community stakeholders, HOPE’s principal goals are to protect our communities from the dangers associated with heroin and opioid painkillers and reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in New Mexico.

 

The HOPE Initiative is comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. HOPE’s law enforcement component is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin and opioid trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative. Learn more about the New Mexico HOPE Initiative at http://www.HopeInitiativeNM.org.

ALBUQUERQUE –David Abrisz, 55, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty this morning in federal court to child pornography charges. The guilty plea was entered under a plea agreement that recommends that Abrisz be sentenced to a 25-year term of imprisonment followed by up to a lifetime of supervised release. Abrisz, a previously convicted child sex offender, will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.

 

Abrisz was arrested on Aug. 11, 2016, on a four-count indictment charging him one count of distributing child pornography and three counts of possessing child pornography. The indictment charged Abrisz with distributing child pornography from July 2013 through Dec. 2015, and possessing child pornography on two computers and a thumb drive from Aug. 2014 through Feb. 2016. According to the indictment, Abrisz committed the offenses in Bernalillo County, N.M.

 

During today’s proceedings, Abrisz pled guilty to Count 1 of the indictment charging him with distributing child pornography and Counts 2 through 4 of the indictment charging him possessing child pornography. In entering the guilty plea, Abrisz admitted committing the following criminal acts:

• Distributing approximately 80 child pornography files from July 2013 through Dec. 2015;

• Possessing a computer that contained approximately two video files and 880 image files of child pornography from Dec. 2014 through Feb. 2015;

• Possessing a second computer that contained approximately 145 image files of child pornography from Dec. 2014 through Feb. 2015; and

• Possessing a thumb drive that contained approximately 147 video files and one image file of child pornography from Aug. 2014 through Feb. 2015, Abrisz.

 

Court records reflect that Abrisz has seven prior convictions for sexual offenses including two convictions for attempted criminal sexual penetration of a child under the age of 13, and five convictions for criminal sexual contact of a child under the age of 13. Abrisz remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the New Mexico Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Mease is prosecuting the case 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/.

 

Abrisz also is being 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 primarily based on their prior criminal convictions for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

ALBUQUERQUE – Rode Lyle Enjady, 38, an enrolled member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation who resides in Dulce, N.M., was sentenced yesterday afternoon in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 36 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on an assault charge.

 

Enjady was arrested in Oct. 2016, on an indictment charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon, a knife, with intent to do bodily harm, assault with a dangerous weapon, a metal weight, with intent to do bodily harm, assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and assault of an intimate partner by strangling or suffocating. According to the indictment, Enjady committed the crimes between Feb. 11, 2016 and Feb. 17, 2016, on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation in Rio Arriba County, N.M.

 

On Feb. 7, 2017, Enjady pled guilty to Count 3 of the indictment charging him with assault resulting in serious bodily injury. In entering the guilty plea, Enjady admitted that between Feb. 11, 2016 and Feb. 17, 2016, he physically abused his intimate partner, a Jicarilla Apache woman, by physically assaulting her. Enjady also admitted that he caused the victim to lose a tooth, suffer from bruising to the face, head, abdomen, back, pubic region, and legs as well as suffer from stab wounds to her legs.

 

This case was investigated by the Jicarilla Apache Tribal Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Marshall.

 

This case was brought as part of 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 American 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 – This morning, a U.S. Magistrate Judge sitting in Las Cruces, N.M., found probable cause to support a criminal complaint charging Eric Angel Estrada, 31, of Hobbs, N.M., with a cocaine trafficking offense. Estrada was remanded into custody pending trial, which has yet to be scheduled.

 

Estrada was arrested on June 22, 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with possessing approximately six kilograms (13.2 pounds) of cocaine in Otero County, N.M. According to the complaint, Estrada was arrested after U.S. Border Patrol agents at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on Highway 54, allegedly seized five bundles containing approximately six kilograms of cocaine from Estrada’s vehicle.

 

If convicted of the charge in the criminal complaint, Estrada faces a statutory minimum of ten years and a maximum of life in federal prison. 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 Alamogordo station of the U.S. Border Patrol and the Las Cruces office of Homeland Security Investigations. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Clara Cobos of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Michael Pawletzki, 35, of Lakewood, Colo., was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 36 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). Pawletzki will be required to register as a sex offender after completing his prison sentence.

 

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, or where the offender is a student, and that the sex offender maintain current registrations.

 

Pawletzki was charged by indictment on Nov. 17, 2015, with violating SORNA by failing to update his sex offender registration. On July 1, 2016, Pawletzki pled guilty to a felony information charging him with failing to update his registration from Dec. 2014 through Nov. 2015, in Valencia County, N.M.

 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Raquel Ruiz-Velez.

ALBUQUERQUE – Christopher Garcia, 42, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty on June 26, 2017, in federal court to drug trafficking charges. The plea agreement recommends that Garcia be sentenced to a term of imprisonment within the range of 180 to 240 months if the court determines that he is a career offender, and within the range of 120 to 150 months if the court determines that he is not.

 

Garcia was arrested on Dec. 3, 2015, on a four-count indictment charging him with drug trafficking offenses. The indictment was superseded on March 16, 2016, to include two additional charges. The superseding indictment charged Garcia with distributing heroin and crack cocaine on Aug. 7, 2015; distributing heroin on Aug. 11, 2015 and Sept. 10, 2015; possessing heroin with intent to distribute on Dec. 3, 2015; and distributing marijuana on Dec. 3, 2015. According to the superseding indictment, Garcia committed the offenses in Bernalillo County, N.M.

 

During the June 26, 2017, proceedings, Garcia pled guilty to three counts of distributing heroin, one count of distributing crack cocaine, and one count of possessing heroin with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Garcia admitted committing the following drug trafficking crimes:

• Selling approximately 49.6 grams of heroin and 23.96 grams of crack cocaine to an individual working with law enforcement on Aug. 7, 2015;

• Selling approximately 76.3 grams of heroin to an individual working with law enforcement on Aug. 11, 2015;

• Selling approximately 148.8 grams of heroin to an undercover law enforcement agent on Sept. 10, 2015; and

• Possessing approximately 200 grams of heroin at a relative’s house on Dec. 3, 2015, which he intended to distribute to others.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque Division of the FBI, New Mexico Corrections Department, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department and the HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office under 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 primarily based on their prior criminal convictions for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

 

The HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of officers from the Las Cruces Police Department, the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, HSI and the New Mexico State Police. 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.

 

The case also is being prosecuted as part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative was launched in January 2015 by the UNM Health Sciences Center and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in response to the national opioid epidemic, which has had a disproportionately devastating impact on New Mexico. Opioid addiction has taken a toll on public safety, public health and the economic viability of our communities. Working in partnership with the DEA, the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative, Healing Addiction in our Community (HAC), the Albuquerque Public Schools and other community stakeholders, HOPE’s principal goals are to protect our communities from the dangers associated with heroin and opioid painkillers and reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in New Mexico.

 

The HOPE Initiative is comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. HOPE’s law enforcement component is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin and opioid trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative. Learn more about the New Mexico HOPE Initiative at http://www.HopeInitiativeNM.org.

ALBUQUERQUE – Randy K. Lovett, 34, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to a bank robbery charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

 

Lovett was arrested in April 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with robbing the Bank of America located at 7644 Jefferson St. NE, in Albuquerque, on April 19, 2017. According to the complaint, Lovett robbed the Bank of America by handing a bank teller a note in which he claimed to have a gun, demanded money, and informed the teller she had 30 seconds to comply. Lovett subsequently was indicted on May 9, 2017, on a bank robbery charge.

 

During today’s proceedings, Lovett pled guilty to the indictment. In his plea agreement, Lovett admitted presenting a demand note to a bank teller with a message that was intended to intimidate and threaten the teller into complying with his demand. The note stated that Lovett was armed and demanded cash in denominations of $50 and $100 bills.

 

At sentencing, Lovett faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Lovett remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Albuquerque Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard Thomas is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Ruben Fuentes, Jr., 38, of Oklahoma City, Okla., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 70 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on a methamphetamine trafficking charge. The conviction arose out of a seizure of more than 13 pounds of methamphetamine during a traffic stop.

 

Fuentes was arrested on March 22, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The criminal complaint alleged that Fuentes committed the crime on March 10, 2016, in Quay County, N.M. According to the criminal complaint, New Mexico State Police (NMSP) officers found approximately 13.45 pounds of methamphetamine in Fuentes’ vehicle during a traffic stop on eastbound Interstate 40 near mile marker 327. Fuentes was subsequently indicted on the same charge on April 12, 2016.

 

On Sept. 28, 2016, Fuentes pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Fuentes admitted that on March 10, 2016, when he was stopped by the NMSP in Quay County, he was in possession of methamphetamine which he intended to distribute to others.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of Homeland Security Investigations and the NMSP. Assistant U.S. Attorney Letitia C. Simms prosecuted the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Ricardo Garcia-Solis, 29, a Mexican national illegally in the United States, made his initial appearance this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., on a methamphetamine trafficking charge. Garcia-Solis remains in federal custody pending a preliminary hearing and a detention hearing, both of which are scheduled for tomorrow.

 

Garcia-Solis is charged in a criminal complaint with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute following his arrest on June 24, 2017, at the Greyhound Bus Station in Albuquerque. The DEA arrested Garcia-Solis after agents allegedly found approximately 2.2 kilograms (4.85 pounds) of methamphetamine in his baggage during a consensual search.

 

If convicted on the charge in the criminal complaint, Garcia-Solis faces a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of ten years to a maximum of life in prison. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard R. Thomas.

ALBUQUERQUE – Steve Frank Candelaria, 42, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 84 months in prison for violating the federal firearms laws by unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition. Candelaria will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.

 

Candelaria was arrested on March 29, 2016, on an indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on Nov. 2, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M. According to the indictment, Candelaria was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of several felony offenses, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a controlled substance, trafficking a controlled substance, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and possession of cocaine.

 

On March 28, 2017, Candelaria pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on Nov. 2, 2015, he possessed a firearm and ammunition despite his status as convicted felon.

 

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Albuquerque Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney George C. Kraehe prosecuted the case under 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 primarily based on their prior criminal convictions for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

ALBUQUERQUE – Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney and Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division announced that Jason Loera was sentenced this afternoon in federal court for his conviction on a child pornography charge. Loera, 48, a former political consultant and resident of Albuquerque, N.M., who recently resided in Los Angeles, Calif., until his remand into federal custody in Oct. 2016, was sentenced to 97 months in prison followed by ten years of supervised release for receiving a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Loera will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.

 

The FBI arrested Loera in Los Angeles in June 2013, on an indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico. The indictment charged Loera with two counts of receiving child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. According to the indictment, Loera committed these offenses in in Bernalillo County, N.M.

 

The indictment against Loera subsequently was superseded twice, most recently on March 8, 2016. The six-count second superseding indictment charged Loera with three counts of receiving child pornography and three counts of possessing child pornography. It alleged that Loera received child pornography on three occasions between March 31, 2010 and April 15, 2010, and that he possessed child pornography on a laptop computer and two CDs on Nov. 20, 2012.

 

“This case is another example of the law enforcement community’s commitment to identifying, locating and prosecuting predators who exploit children,” said Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney. “Prosecuting those who possess child pornography is crucial to destabilizing this black market and undermining the normalization of child sexual abuse.”

 

“The FBI is committed to fighting the sexual exploitation of children,” said Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division. “A key part of that effort is the New Mexico Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory, which brings together highly trained FBI and task force officers to track down digital clues. We will continue to work with our partners to uncover those who engage in child pornography and make sure they are no longer able to victimize innocent children.”

 

On April 22, 2016, Loera entered a guilty plea to Count 3 of the second superseding indictment charging him with receiving child pornography on April 15, 2010. In his plea agreement, Loera admitted using his laptop computer to download from the internet an electronic file that he knew contained child pornography. The file contained 45 images of a prepubescent girl, many of which showed the girl engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Loera also admitted that when the FBI searched his residence on Nov. 20, 2012, he knowingly possessed child pornography on his laptop computer and two CDs. Loera admitted that he had more than 600 images of child pornography, some of which depicted violence.

 

The case was investigated by the Albuquerque Division of the FBI and the New Mexico Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristopher N. Houghton prosecuted the case 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/.

ALBUQUERQUE – Yesterday afternoon, U.S. District Judge William P. Johnson imposed sentence on Michael Dameon Blackburn, 31, of Albuquerque, N.M., for his conviction for producing, distributing, receiving and possessing child pornography depicting two toddlers. Judge Johnson sentenced Blackburn to 120 years of imprisonment to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release, and ordered Blackburn to register as a sex offender. The Judge also ordered Blackburn to pay $430,800.00 in restitution to the two children who were victims of his criminal conduct.

 

Blackburn’s sentence was announced Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney, Special Agent in Charge Waldemar Rodriguez of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, Tex., Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales, III, and Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden, Jr.

 

In announcing the sentence, Acting U.S. Attorney Tierney said, “The U.S. Attorney’s Office has made it a priority to prosecute those who exploit young, vulnerable children. While there are never any winners in these cases, we hope that the knowledge that Blackburn will spend the rest of his life in prison where he can never harm them or any other child will bring a measure of solace to the two young children he so terribly exploited.”

 

“HSI will continue to work closely with its law enforcement partners, as it did in this case, to keep our children safe and our communities strong against these heinous crimes and criminals,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Rodriguez. “This is our message to those who prey on children: we will find you, we will bring you to justice, and we will make you answer for your despicable crimes.”

 

“The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office is committed to collaborating with federal agencies to proactively investigate crimes against children, and that commitment is reaffirmed when, as in this case, we are able to rescue young victims from the sexual predators who exploit them,” said Bernalillo County Sheriff Gonzales. “Let this case serve as a warning to those who prey on children, we are dedicated to identifying you and holding you accountable for your repulsive crimes.”

 

“We must do the utmost to ensure those who prey on innocent children are punished to the full extent of the law. It is a privilege to work alongside our law enforcement partners and hold these worst of the worst criminals accountable,” said Albuquerque Police Chief Eden.

 

HSI special agents arrested Blackburn in Dec. 2013, on a criminal complaint charging him with producing and distributing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct in Bernalillo County, N.M., between March 2013 and Dec. 2013. In Jan. 2014, a federal grand jury filed a five-count indictment charging Blackburn was distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography, and two counts of producing child pornography. The indictment alleged that Blackburn committed all five offenses in Bernalillo County between Jan. 2013 and Dec. 2013.

 

The investigation leading to the charges against Blackburn began on Nov. 15, 2013, when 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 possible location for the person who may have distributed the pornographic image of the young child victim.

 

Court filings indicate that on Dec. 17, 2013, law enforcement officers conducted a welfare check at the residence and made contact with Blackburn and two children – a girl and a boy, both two years of age – who were left in Blackburn’s care while their parents were out of town. The officers learned that Blackburn had been sexually molesting the toddlers from at least March 2013 through Dec. 2013, and taking photographs and making videos of the toddlers while he molested them. They also learned that Blackburn emailed the pornographic images and videos of the toddlers to others. The two young victims were immediately removed from the residence and put into protective custody.

 

Blackburn entered a guilty plea on March 14, 2016, to all five counts of the indictment. In his plea agreement, Blackburn admitted distributing a video of a female toddler being forced to perform a sexual act on an adult male. He also admitted receiving a video of a male toddler being forced to perform a sexual act with an adult male, and possessing a pornographic image of a female toddler. Blackburn also acknowledged producing pornographic images of a female toddler and a male toddler.

 

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. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marisa A. Ong and Shammara Henderson prosecuted the case 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 82 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General. Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.

ALBUQUERQUE – Moises Eufelio Martinez, Jr., 43, of Grants, N.M., pled guilty this morning in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to a methamphetamine trafficking charge.

 

Martinez was arrested in Jan. 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The complaint alleged that Martinez committed the crimes on Dec. 19, 2016, in Lea County, N.M. According to the complaint, officers of the Lea County Drug Task Force seized approximately 901.5 gross grams of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, firearms and ammunition following the execution of search warrants on Martinez’s person and a hotel room.

 

During today’s proceedings, Martinez pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Martinez admitted that on Dec. 19, 2016, he was in possession two bags containing methamphetamine and a loaded handgun when he was searched by Lea County Drug Task Force officers. Martinez acknowledged that he intended to distribute the methamphetamine to others and that he was carrying the firearm to protect himself, the methamphetamine, and any money he received from the sale of the methamphetamine.

 

At sentencing, Martinez faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison. He remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA and the Lea County Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Terri J. Abernathy of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

 

The Lea County Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Lea County Sheriff’s Office, Hobbs Police Department, Lovington Police Department, Eunice Police Department the Tatum Police Department and the Jal Police Department, and is part of the New Mexico HIDTA Region VI Drug Task Force. 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.

ALBUQUERQUE – The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has filed a criminal complaint charging David Barber, 40, of Albuquerque, N.M., with federal firearms charges arising out of the burglary of an Albuquerque-based federal firearms dealer’s place of business.

 

The criminal complaint, which was filed yesterday, charges Barber with being a felon in possession of firearms and theft from a federal firearms dealer’s business inventory. The criminal complaint alleges that Barber committed the crimes in April 2017, in Bernalillo County, N.M. According to the criminal complaint, Barber and another man burglarized a federal firearms dealer’s business in the early hours of April 24, 2017, and stole 12 firearms. The business’s surveillance system video-recorded the burglary and law enforcement officers used the videotape of the burglary to identify Barber as one of the two alleged burglars. The criminal complaint alleges that in April 2017, Barber was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition due to his status as a convicted felon.

 

The criminal complaint alleges that on May 11, 2017, officers of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) seized three of the 12 firearms stolen during the burglary when they executed a search warrant at an apartment in which Barber had been observed on several occasions. It also alleges that the officers found other evidence relating to the burglary when they executed a search warrant on a van allegedly used by Barber during the burglary.

 

APD officers arrested Barber on outstanding state warrants on June 20, 2017, following a high-speed vehicle chase through Albuquerque. Barber remains in state custody pending transfer to federal custody to face the charges in the criminal complaint.

 

If convicted, Barber faces a statutory maximum term of imprisonment of ten years on each of the two charges in the criminal complaint. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

 

The ATF office in Albuquerque and APD investigated this case, which is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Trembley under 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 primarily based on their prior criminal convictions for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

ALBUQUERQUE – Kenneth Matthew Adame, 24, of Las Cruces, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to a methamphetamine trafficking charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

 

Adame and co-defendants Ricky Joe Garcia, 52, and Christopher Michael Sanchez, 24, both of Las Cruces, were arrested in April 2017, and were charged by criminal complaint with participating in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy on April 10, 2017, in Dona Ana County, N.M. According to the complaint, on that day, Adame, Garcia and Sanchez sold approximately 497.22 grams of methamphetamine to undercover law enforcement agents.

 

During today’s proceedings, Adame pled guilty to a felony information charging him with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and admitted that on April 10, 2017, he conspired with his co-defendants to distribute 497 grams of methamphetamine.

 

At sentencing, Adame faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison. Adame remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

 

Garcia and Sanchez remain in custody on the charges in the criminal complaint. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

 

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations’ Border Drug Task Force and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brock E. Taylor of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

ALBUQUERQUE – Juan Carlos Quezada-Lara, 31, a previously deported Mexican national illegally residing in Albuquerque, N.M., made his initial appearance today in federal court on a criminal complaint charging him with violating federal firearms laws. Quezada-Lara remains in custody pending a preliminary hearing and detention hearing, both of which are scheduled for tomorrow.

 

Quezada-Lara is charged in a criminal complaint with being a drug addict in possession of a firearm and being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm on June 19, 2017, in Bernalillo County, N.M. According to the complaint, Quezada-Lara allegedly participated in a methamphetamine transaction with an undercover FBI agent in a parking lot in Albuquerque. Following the alleged transaction, Quezada-Lara fled from the scene in a vehicle and allegedly struck an FBI task force officer with his vehicle while attempting to evade arrest.

 

The criminal complaint further alleges that law enforcement agents located two firearms and ammunition in Quezada-Lara’s residence. According to court documents, Quezada-Lara is a Mexican citizen who has been deported from the United States on three prior occasions and is allegedly addicted to methamphetamine.

 

If convicted of the charges in the criminal complaint, Quezada-Lara faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison each of the firearms charges. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Albuquerque Police Department. Members of the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force including the New Mexico State Police, Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations and the New Mexico Corrections Department, assisted in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Letitia C. Simms is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – One Albuquerque resident pled guilty and one was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., for violating federal drug trafficking laws. Chere Juarez, 28, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today to a methamphetamine trafficking charge. Leo Lopez, 28, was sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction.

 

Juarez and Lopez were charged as the result of an ATF-led investigation that resulted in the filing of 59 federal indictments and a federal criminal complaint charging 104 Bernalillo County residents with federal firearms and narcotics trafficking offenses. The investigation began in mid-April 2016, when ATF personnel from throughout the country joined forces with federal, state, county and local law enforcement agencies in New Mexico to combat the high rate of violent crime in the Albuquerque metropolitan area. The investigators utilized a number of investigative techniques, including undercover operations, historical investigation and targeting of multi-convicted felons in possession of firearms.

 

The investigation was undertaken in support 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 collaborate with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution primarily based on their prior criminal convictions with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

 

Juarez and her codefendant David Rayford, 25, were charged in a three-count indictment on June 30, 2016. Rayford and Juarez were charged with distribution of methamphetamine on June 7, 2016, and June 14, 2016, and Rayford was charged individually with being a felon in possession of a firearm on May 27, 2016. According to the indictment, the offenses took place in Bernalillo County.

 

During today’s proceedings, Juarez pled guilty to a felony information charging her with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Juarez admitted that on June 14, 2016, she sold approximately two ounces of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement agent. At sentencing, Juarez faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. She remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

 

Lopez’s codefendant Felix Ulibarri, 39, was indicted on July 28, 2016, and was charged with distributing methamphetamine on July 11, 2016. The indictment subsequently was superseded on Aug. 9, 2016, to add Lopez, Joseph Sena, 40, and Jennifer Padilla, 39. The superseding indictment charged Ulibarri and Padilla with participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in July 2016; Lopez, Sena and Padilla with participating in a different conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in July 2016; Ulibarri with distributing methamphetamine on July 11, 2016; and Sena with distributing methamphetamine on July 26, 2016. According to the indictment, the defendants committed the crimes in Bernalillo County.

 

On March 20, 2017, Lopez pled guilty to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, and admitted that on July 26, 2016, he helped arrange a methamphetamine transaction between Sena, Padilla and himself.

 

To date, 55 of the 104 defendants have entered guilty pleas, including Sena, and 20 have been sentenced. The remaining defendants, including Rayford, Ulibarri and Padilla have entered not guilty pleas. Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of ATF. The case against Juarez is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David M. Walsh and Norman Cairns. The case against Lopez is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Han.

ALBUQUERQUE –Timothy Wayne McGahee, 22, of Flowery Branch, Ga., pled guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to methamphetamine trafficking charges under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

 

McGahee was arrested on Oct. 23, 2016, on a criminal complaint alleging that he possessed approximately 10.4 pounds of methamphetamine. According to the complaint, McGahee was arrested, after U.S. Border Patrol agents at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint west of Alamogordo, N.M., seized the methamphetamine from McGahee’s vehicle.

 

McGahee was indicted on March 22, 2017, and charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Oct. 23, 2016, in Otero County, N.M.

 

During today’s proceedings, McGahee pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on Oct. 23, 2016, U.S. Border Patrol Agents located methamphetamine concealed in a cooler in the trunk of McGahee’s vehicle at the Border Patrol checkpoint on High 54 in Otero County. McGahee further admitted that he intended to deliver the methamphetamine to other individuals within the United States in exchange for money.

 

At sentencing, McGahee faces a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of ten years and a maximum of life in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Border Patrol and the Las Cruces office of the DEA. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Clara Cobos of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Kenneth Webb, 50, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to an aggravated identity theft charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

 

Webb and his codefendants Amelia Cordova, 34, and Bridget Jessica Sanchez, 35, both of Albuquerque were charged in a five-count indictment filed on Oct. 25, 2016, with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and receipt of stolen mail. The indictment was superseded on April 26, 2017, and charged the three defendants with participating in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud from Jan. 2015 through Feb. 2016. The superseding indictment also charged each of the three defendants with committing aggravated identity theft on the following dates: Cordova on Feb. 13, 2016; Sanchez on Jan. 19, 2015; and Webb on June 2, 2015. It also charged Cordova and Sanchez with theft or receipt of stolen mail on July 20, 2015. According to the superseding indictment, the defendants committed the crimes in Bernalillo County, N.M.

 

During today’s proceedings, Webb pled guilty to an aggravated identity theft charge and admitted that he conspired with his codefendants to defraud financial institutions, including First Financial Credit Union, Kirtland Federal Credit Union, Sandia Laboratory Federal Credit Union, Bank of America and Bank of the West. He also admitted that in furtherance of that conspiracy, they possessed mail and other information, including bank account, debit card and credit card numbers belonging to others, that had been stolen from a post office, mail receptacle, or mail carrier. In entering the guilty plea, Webb further admitted that between June 2, 2015 and June 19, 2015, he possessed and used bank account information of other individuals. Webb also admitted that on July 20, 2015, he possessed counterfeit checks, counterfeit New Mexico state identification cards and other identification that belonged to other individuals.

 

On June 15, 2017, Cordova and Sanchez each pled guilty to similar charges. In their plea agreements, Cordova and Sanchez admitted to participating in the conspiracy along with Webb to defraud financial institutions, and using numbers for bank accounts, credit cards and debit cards found in stolen mail to make purchases, and forging signatures of others in making those purchases. Cordova and Sanchez also admitted using bank account numbers and bank routing numbers contained in stolen mail to make counterfeit personal checks, which they used to make purchases.

 

In entering her guilty plea, Cordova admitted that between Feb. 13 and 21, 2016, she used credit card number information from two different people to commit bank fraud.

 

In entering her guilty plea, Sanchez admitted that on Jan. 19, 2015 and between June 15 and 24, 2015, she used bank account information belonging to another person to commit bank fraud. Sanchez also admitted using credit card number information of another person on Feb. 10, 20, and 21, 2016.

 

At sentencing, Webb, Cordova and Sanchez each face a mandatory penalty of two years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 each. Cordova and Sanchez are currently scheduled for sentencing hearings on Sept. 13, 2017. A sentencing hearing for Webb has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated the U.S. Postal Service and the Albuquerque Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney George C. Kraehe.

ALBUQUERQUE – Amelia Cordova, 34, and Bridget Jessica Sanchez, 35, both of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to aggravated identity theft charges.

 

Cordova, Sanchez and their co-defendant Kenneth Webb, 50, also of Albuquerque, were charged in a five-count indictment filed on Oct. 25, 2016, with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and receipt of stolen mail. The indictment was superseded on April 26, 2017, and charged the three defendants with participating in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud from Jan. 2015 through Feb. 2016. The superseding indictment also charged each of the three defendants with committing aggravated identity theft on the following dates: Cordova on Feb. 13, 2016; Sanchez on Jan. 19, 2015; and Webb on June 2, 2015. It also charged Cordova and Sanchez with theft or receipt of stolen mail on July 20, 2015. According to the superseding indictment, the defendants committed the crimes in Bernalillo County, N.M.

 

During today’s proceedings, Cordova and Sanchez each pled guilty to an aggravated identity theft charge under plea agreements with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In their plea agreements, Cordova and Sanchez admitted that they conspired to defraud financial institutions, including First Financial Credit Union, Kirtland Federal Credit Union, Sandia Laboratory Federal Credit Union, Bank of America and Bank of the West. They also admitted that in furtherance of that conspiracy, they possessed mail and other information, including bank account, debit card and credit card numbers belonging to others, that had been stolen from a post office, mail receptacle, or mail carrier. Cordova and Sanchez admitted using the numbers for the bank accounts, credit cards and debit cards to make purchases, and forging signatures of others in making those purchases. Cordova and Sanchez also admitted using bank account numbers and bank routing numbers contained in the stolen mail to make counterfeit personal checks, which they used to make purchases.

 

In entering her guilty plea, Cordova admitted that between Feb. 13 and 21, 2016, she used credit card number information from two different people to commit bank fraud.

 

In entering her guilty plea, Sanchez admitted that on Jan. 19, 2015 and between June 15 and 24, 2015, she used bank account information belonging to another person to commit bank fraud. Sanchez also admitted using credit card number information of another person on Feb. 10, 20, and 21, 2016.

 

At sentencing, Cordova and Sanchez each face a mandatory penalty of two years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 each. Sentencing hearings have yet to be scheduled.

 

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

 

This case was investigated the U.S. Postal Service and the Albuquerque Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney George C. Kraehe.

ALBUQUERQUE – Desiree Ulibarri, 31, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to federal prescription opioid conspiracy charges under a plea agreement that recommends that she be sentenced to a term of imprisonment not to exceed 57 months followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court. At the time Ulibarri committed the crimes to which she pleaded guilty, she was a registered nurse employed by an Albuquerque-area hospice care provider. The guilty plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney and Special Agent in Charge Will R. Glaspy of DEA’s El Paso Division.

 

In announcing the guilty plea, Acting U.S. Attorney Tierney said, “New Mexicans deserve competent health care from medical professionals whose sole focus is the best interest of their patients, not from drug traffickers who abuse their medical licenses to capitalize on their patients’ healthcare needs. Today’s guilty plea sends a message of deterrence to healthcare providers seeking to abuse their medical licenses for anything other than providing competent and professional medical care to their patients.”

 

“This investigation has shown the unfortunate reality that anyone – even those in well-paying, professional positions – can become involved in criminal activity,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Glaspy. “And this guilty plea demonstrates that those who take that step will be held accountable.”

 

Ulibarri and co-defendant Annabel Debari, 36, also of Albuquerque, were charged in August 2016, in a two-count indictment with conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, and conspiracy to acquire and obtain oxycodone by fraud and deceit. According to the indictment, the two women committed the crimes in Bernalillo County, N.M., between April 2016 and July 2016.

 

The investigation of this case began on July 21, 2016, after Ulibarri’s employer, a hospice care provider, contacted DEA to report suspicions that Ulibarri was engaged in prescription pill diversion. The employer became suspicious because Ulibarri was documenting patients’ prescriptions in a way that made it difficult to reconcile the medications and because Ulibarri was picking up patients’ prescription pills at Federal Express instead of having the medication delivered to the patients.

 

On July 22, 2016, DEA agents seized 80 10-mg oxycodone pills from Ulibarri, which she obtained from packages she retrieved from Federal Express. When DEA agents conducted a consensual search of Ulibarri’s cellular phone, they allegedly found evidence that Ulibarri had been conspiring with a co-worker, who is also a registered nurse, to illegally distribute prescription pills since April 2016. Additionally, a review of records of missing packages revealed that at least 3,870 pills, an aggregate of 42,150 mgs of oxycodone, had been diverted during the course of the conspiracy.

 

During today’s proceedings, Ulibarri pled guilty to the indictment. In her plea agreement, Ulibarri admitted that she was a registered nurse in March 2016, when she was hired by a hospice care provider, and in April 2016, she began to abuse her position to divert prescription medications from their intended recipients. She acknowledged that she recommended oxycodone prescriptions for patients who did not need oxycodone with the intention of selling the pills to others. Ulibarri admitted arranging for a courier service to hold packages of oxycodone intended for patients for pickup instead of delivering the medication to the patients, and picking up the medication herself so she could divert the oxycodone for distribution and her own personal use. Ulibarri also admitted recommending that her employer hire Debari, who was also a registered nurse, so that Debari could assist her in diverting and distributing oxycodone pills in New Mexico.

 

Debari entered a guilty plea to similar charges on Dec. 9, 2016. In entering her guilty plea, Debari admitted that she personally diverted at least 750 10-milligram oxycodone pills in furtherance of Ulibarri’s diversion scheme. As part of that scheme, on June 7, 2016, Ulibarri called the courier service and pretended to be the intended recipient of the oxycodone pills, and requested that the courier service release the medication to Debari. Debari also admitted that on July 18, 2016, she helped Ulibarri conceal their diversion scheme from their employer by arranging for another person to call their employer and falsely claim to be an employee of the courier service who was reporting that the oxycodone pills had gone missing.

 

Debari faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Sentencing hearings for Debari and Ulibarri have yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Tactical Diversion Squad of the DEA in Albuquerque. DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squads combine DEA resources with those of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in an innovative effort to investigate, disrupt and dismantle those suspected of violating the Controlled Substances Act or other appropriate federal, state or local statutes pertaining to the diversion of licit pharmaceutical controlled substances or listed chemicals.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander M. Uballez and Kristopher N. Houghton are prosecuting the case pursuant to the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative was launched in January 2015 by the UNM Health Sciences Center and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in response to the national opioid epidemic, which has had a disproportionately devastating impact on New Mexico. Opioid addiction has taken a toll on public safety, public health and the economic viability of our communities. Working in partnership with the DEA, the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative, Healing Addiction in our Community (HAC), the Albuquerque Public Schools and other community stakeholders, HOPE’s principal goals are to protect our communities from the dangers associated with heroin and opioid painkillers and reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in New Mexico.

 

The HOPE Initiative is comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. HOPE’s law enforcement component is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin and opioid trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative. Learn more about the New Mexico HOPE Initiative at http://www.HopeInitiativeNM.org.

ALBUQUERQUE – Zachariah Nez, 19, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a voluntary manslaughter charge. The plea agreement recommends a prison sentence within the range of six to 11 years followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

 

Nez was arrested in Oct. 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with killing a Navajo man on the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M., on Oct. 17, 2016. According to the complaint, Nez killed the victim by striking him with a rock.

 

Nez was indicted on Nov. 1, 2016, and charged with second-degree murder on Oct. 17, 2016, in San Juan County.

 

During today’s proceedings, Nez pled guilty to a felony information charging him with voluntary manslaughter. In entering the guilty plea, Nez admitted that on Oct. 17, 2016, he killed the victim by striking him several times with a rock. Nez remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Spindle.

ALBUQUERQUE –Joshua Metts, 36, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 51 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for unlawfully possessing a firearm.

 

Metts was charged with violating the Hobbs Act and federal firearms laws in an indictment filed in April 2015. In June 2016, a superseding indictment was filed that charged Metts with violating the Hobbs Act on Sept. 12, 2014, by robbing a commercial business in Albuquerque, and with being a felon in possession of a firearm on Oct. 2, 2014. According to the indictment, Metts was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his prior felony convictions for aggravated fleeing of a law enforcement officer and trafficking a controlled substance.

 

Metts was arrested on the federal charges in June 2015, after he was transferred to federal custody from state custody where he was detained on related state charges. The state charges later were dismissed in favor of federal prosecution. In July 2016, the court severed the Hobbs Act charge from the felon in possession charge for the purposes of trial.

 

A federal jury found Metts guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm after a two-day trial on Oct. 12, 2016. The evidence at trial established that APD officers arrested Metts on an outstanding state warrant on Oct. 2, 2014. After arresting Metts, the officers found a firearm in Metts’ vehicle; the firearm was wedged between the driver’s door and the driver’s seat. After Metts was convicted on the felon in possession charge, the U.S. Attorney’s Office moved to dismiss the Hobbs Act charge.

 

The case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of ATF and APD with assistance from the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Samuel A. Hurtado and Paul Mysliwiec prosecuted the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Sage Andrew Yazzie, 21, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Farmington, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to voluntary manslaughter and firearms charges. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Yazzie will be sentenced within the range of 12 to 15 years in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

 

Yazzie was arrested on March 10, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with killing a Navajo man on the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M., on Feb. 23, 2016. According to the criminal complaint, Yazzie entered a residence and shot the victim in the head with a firearm.

 

Yazzie was indicted on March 23, 2016, and charged with first degree murder and using and carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. According to the indictment, Yazzie committed the offenses on Feb. 23, 2016, in San Juan County.

 

During today’s proceedings, Yazzie pled guilty to a felony information charging him with voluntary manslaughter and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. In entering the guilty plea, Yazzie admitted that on Feb. 23, 2016, he entered a residence in Huerfano, N.M., and killed the victim during a sudden quarrel by shooting the victim with a handgun. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI, the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and the Farmington Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Raquel Ruiz-Velez and Elaine Y. Ramirez.

ALBUQUERQUE – Colleen Calamia, 38, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 12 months and 21 days in prison, which she has already served, followed by three years of supervised release for harboring and concealing a federal fugitive. The sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney and U.S. Marshal Conrad E. Candelaria.

 

Calamia was arrested in May 2016, on a criminal complaint charging her with harboring her husband, Mario Montoya, 31, after he absconded from a halfway house in Albuquerque on May 20, 2016. Court records reflect that Montoya, who was under indictment for being a felon in possession of a firearm and theft of mail, was released from federal custody on an order requiring him to reside in an Albuquerque-area halfway house and to comply with other conditions. According to the complaint, Montoya violated the conditions of his release on May 20, 2016, by absconding from the halfway house and violating other release conditions. Montoya fled from the halfway house in a black sport utility vehicle.

 

On May 20, 2016, the court issued an emergency warrant authorizing Montoya’s arrest for violating his release conditions. According to the criminal complaint, on May 24, 2016, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) learned that Montoya was frequenting a residence located at 312 Western Skies (the residence) in Albuquerque. While conducting surveillance near the residence, USMS Deputies and Task Force officers allegedly observed Calamia driving a black Escalade that parked in front of the residence. They then observed Calamia and Montoya exit the vehicle and move objects from the vehicle and into the residence.

 

According to the complaint, Calamia then left the residence in the black Escalade and USMS Deputies executed a traffic stop on her vehicle. When the Deputies questioned Calamia about Montoya’s whereabouts, she told them that Montoya was alone in the residence. When a USMS arrest team attempted to serve the arrest warrant on Montoya, he fired upon the deputies, initiating an exchange of gunfire. After the arrest team was able to retreat to a safe location, a second team later entered the residence. The second team found Montoya in a closet; he had been struck in the exchange of gunfire and was dead.

 

Calamia was subsequently indicted on June 14, 2016, and charged with aiding and abetting an escape of a convicted felon on May 20, 2016, and concealing a person from arrest on May 24, 2016. On Nov. 7, 2016, Calamia pled guilty to aiding and abetting an escape and admitted that on May 20, 2016, she aided and abetted the escape of Montoya from an Albuquerque-area halfway house.

 

The USMS investigated this case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob A. Wishard. Mr. Wishard was also prosecuting the case against Montoya, which was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

ALBUQUERQUE – Kelly James, 34, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to a child abuse charge. Under the terms of the plea agreement, James will be sentenced to a term of probation to be determined by the court.

 

James was arrested in May 2017, on an indictment charging her with engaging in child abuse by operating a motor vehicle recklessly on Dec. 8, 2016, on the Isleta Pueblo in Valencia County, N.M.

 

During today’s proceedings, James entered a guilty plea to the indictment. In entering the guilty plea, James admitted that on Dec. 8, 2016, she operated a motor vehicle recklessly within the Isleta Pueblo while under the influence of alcohol. James further admitted that her actions endangered the health and wellbeing of the child who was a passenger in the vehicle. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Isleta Pueblo Tribal Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elisa C. Dimas.

ALBUQUERQUE – David Anaya Garcia, 33, of Las Cruces, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 96 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his conviction on a federal child pornography charge. Garcia will be required to register as a sex offender when he completes his prison sentence. At the time he committed the crime, Garcia was employed as a janitor in a Las Cruces elementary school.

 

Garcia was arrested in July 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with distribution of child pornography and possession of child pornography. According to the complaint, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) initiated the federal investigation leading to Garcia’s arrest in June 2015, after the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General reported that an investigation by the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force revealed that an IP Address subscribed to Garcia’s residential address was being used to download child pornography. The Las Cruces Police Department and HSI arrested Garcia and executed a federal search warrant at his residence on July 1, 2015.

 

Garcia was subsequently indicted on Sept. 16, 2015, and charged with distributing child pornography on March 26, 2015, receiving child pornography from March 2015 through April 2015, and possessing child pornography on July 1, 2015. The indictment alleged that Garcia committed the crimes in Doña Ana County, N.M.

 

On Feb. 8, 2016, Garcia pled guilty to receipt and distribution of child pornography and admitted that between March 12, 2015 and April 30, 2015, he distributed child pornography through file-sharing software that allowed others to download the images and videos he saved to a shared folder. Garcia further admitted that on July 2, 2015, agents from HSI executed a search warrant on his home where they seized an HP Pavilion laptop containing five images and 88 videos depicting child pornography and a thumb-drive containing 56 images and 55 videos depicting child pornography.

 

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of HSI, the Las Cruces Police Department, the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General, the New Mexico ICAC Task Force and the New Mexico Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Shapiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office 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 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 86 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the New Mexico 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 – Michael Borrego, 25, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to a year and a day in prison for violating the federal firearms laws by possessing an unregistered firearm. Borrego will be on supervised release for two years after completing his prison sentence.

 

Borrego and co-defendants Marcus Sowell, 19, Damon Giles, 23, Adrian Banks, 28, and Marcus Lewis, 27, were charged as the result of an ATF-led investigation that resulted in the filing of 59 federal indictments and a federal criminal complaint charging 104 Bernalillo County residents with federal firearms and narcotics trafficking offenses. The investigation began in mid-April 2016, when ATF personnel from throughout the country joined forces with federal, state, county and local law enforcement agencies in New Mexico to combat the high rate of violent crime in the Albuquerque metropolitan area. The investigators utilized a number of investigative techniques, including undercover operations, historical investigation and targeting of multi-convicted felons in possession of firearms.

 

The investigation was undertaken in support 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 collaborate with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution primarily based on their prior criminal convictions with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

 

Borrego and his co-defendants were charged in a 12-count indictment filed on June 30, 2016. The indictment charged the five defendants with committing the following crimes in Bernalillo County, N.M.:

• Sowell, with possession of a firearm not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR) and engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license on May 19, 2016;

• Giles, with being a felon in possession of a firearm on May 19, 2016;

• Giles and Borrego, with engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license on May 31, 2016;

• Giles and Banks, with engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license on June 7, 2016;

• Banks, with being a felon in possession of firearms on June 7, 2016;

• Borrego, with engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license on June 7, 2016 and June 10, 2016;

• Giles and Lewis, with distribution of cocaine on June 9, 2016;

• Borrego, with possession of a firearm not registered to him in the NFRTR on June 10, 2016; and

• Giles, with engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license and being a felon in possession of firearms on June 13, 2016.

   

All five defendants have entered guilty pleas to charges in the indictment, including Borrego who pleaded guilty to Count 10 of the indictment, which charged him with possession of an unregistered firearm. Borrego is the last of the five defendants to be sentenced.

 

To date, 54 of the 104 defendants have entered guilty pleas and 19 have been sentenced. The remaining defendants have entered not guilty pleas. Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of ATF. This case was prosecuted by Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney.

ALBUQUERQUE – Matthew Romero, 41, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 37 months in prison for robbing a retail pharmacy to obtain prescription controlled substances. Romero will be on supervised release for three years following his prison sentence. The sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney, Will R. Glaspy, Special Agent in Charge of DEA’s El Paso Division, and Chief Gorden E. Eden of the Albuquerque Police Department.

 

Romero was arrested on Dec. 30, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with violating the Hobbs Act by robbing a business engaged in interstate commerce and robbery involving controlled substances. The charges against Romero arose out of the armed robberies of the Walgreens Pharmacy located at 3501 Lomas Blvd. and the Walgreens Pharmacy located at 5201 Central Ave. in Albuquerque.

 

Romero was subsequently charged in a four-count indictment on Jan. 14, 2016, with two counts of violating the Hobbs Act and two counts of theft of medical products. The indictment alleges that Romero committed the crimes on Dec. 6, 2015 and Dec. 7, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M.

 

On Oct. 11, 2016, Romero pled guilty to the indictment. In his plea agreement, Romero admitted entering the Walgreens Pharmacy located at 3501 Lomas Blvd. NE, on Dec. 6, 2015, where gave a pharmacy employee a note demanding Xanax and Diazepam, and let the employee know that he was armed. Romero also admitted that on Dec. 7, 2015, he entered the Walgreens Pharmacy located at 5201 Central Ave., where he gave a pharmacy employee a note demanding Xanax, Diazepam, and Oxycodone, and let the employee know that he was armed. The plea agreement states that on Dec. 8, 2015, Romero again entered the Walgreens Pharmacy located at 3501 Lomas Blvd. NE, with a note demanding Xanax and Valium, and stating that Romero was armed, but Romero was arrested while he was waiting for the pharmacy to open.

 

According to the plea agreement, on Dec. 6, 2015, Romero stole 107 doses of 2 milligram Alprazolam and 346 doses of 10 milligram Diazepam, and on Dec. 7, 2015, Romero stole 873 doses of 2 milligram Alprazolam, 471 doses of 10 milligram Diazepam and nine doses of 5 milligram Oxycodone. At the time of his arrest on Dec. 8, 2015, officers recovered several bottles of Alprazolam from his backpack, and did not locate any firearms, ammunition or other weapons.

 

This case was investigated by the Tactical Diversion Squad of the DEA in Albuquerque and the Albuquerque Police Department. DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squads combine DEA resources with those of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in an innovative effort to investigate, disrupt and dismantle those suspected of violating the Controlled Substances Act or other appropriate federal, state or local statutes pertaining to the diversion of licit pharmaceutical controlled substances or listed chemicals.

 

The Controlled Substance Registrant Protection Act was enacted in 1984, to combat the theft of prescription drugs from individuals and businesses registered with the DEA. It created penalties for entering a pharmacy’s premises for the purpose of stealing controlled substances, and includes enhanced punishment for using a dangerous weapon. The Safe Doses Act was enacted in Oct. 2012, to fight medical theft and protect patients from unknowingly using stolen and mishandled drugs. It provides for enhanced sentences for those who rob pharmacies of controlled substances; individuals who steal medical products; and “fences” who knowingly obtain stolen medical products for resale in the supply chain.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joel R. Meyers and Shaheen P. Torgoley prosecuted the case as part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative was launched in January 2015 by the UNM Health Sciences Center and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in response to the national opioid epidemic, which has had a disproportionately devastating impact on New Mexico. Opioid addiction has taken a toll on public safety, public health and the economic viability of our communities. Working in partnership with the DEA, the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative, Healing Addiction in our Community (HAC), the Albuquerque Public Schools and other community stakeholders, HOPE’s principal goals are to protect our communities from the dangers associated with heroin and opioid painkillers and reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in New Mexico.

 

The HOPE Initiative is comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. HOPE’s law enforcement component is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin and opioid trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative. Learn more about the New Mexico HOPE Initiative at http://www.HopeInitiativeNM.org.

ALBUQUERQUE – Richard J. Hall, 31, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to a bank robbery charge.

 

Hall was arrested on April 6, 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with robbing the Wells Fargo Bank located at 1800 Eubank Blvd. NE, in Albuquerque, on March 30, 2017. According to the complaint, Hall robbed the Wells Fargo Bank by handing a bank teller a note in which he threatened to hurt someone if the bank teller did not give Hall money. Hall subsequently was indicted on April 26, 2017, on a bank robbery charge.

 

During today’s proceedings, Hall pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement. At sentencing, Hall faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Hall remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney George C. Kraehe is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – This morning a U.S. Magistrate Judge sitting in Las Cruces, N.M., found probable cause to support a criminal complaint charging Joseph Torrez, 31, of Carlsbad, N.M., with violating federal firearms laws by unlawfully possessing a firearm while being subject to a protective order. Torrez remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for June 14, 2017.

 

According to the criminal complaint, on Feb. 11, 2017, a fugitive investigator of the New Mexico Division of Adult Probation and Parole (NMDAPP) observed Torrez carry a gun case containing a rifle into a gun shop in Las Cruces, N.M. Based on that information, an officer of the NMDAPP obtained a state arrest warrant for Torrez, who was prohibited from possessing firearms as a condition of the probationary term he was serving as the result of a misdemeanor conviction for aggravated assault. On Feb. 13, 2017, Special Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) assisted the NMDAPP in arresting Torrez and executing a probationary inspection at Torrez’s residence. During the search, the agents and officers allegedly seized a shotgun and multiple boxes of ammunition.

 

According to the criminal complaint, under federal law, Torrez is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he is subject to a protective order that is in effect until June 8, 2026. Torrez was arrested on the firearms charge in the criminal complaint on June 6, 2017, after he was transferred from state custody.

 

If convicted, Torrez faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

 

The case against Torrez was investigated by the Las Cruces office of ATF and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

ALBUQUERQUE – Jesus Parra, 30, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to a methamphetamine trafficking charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office

 

Parra was charged as the result of an ATF-led investigation that resulted in the filing of 59 federal indictments and a federal criminal complaint charging 104 Bernalillo County residents with federal firearms and narcotics trafficking offenses. The investigation began in mid-April 2016, when ATF personnel from throughout the country joined forces with federal, state, county and local law enforcement agencies in New Mexico to combat the high rate of violent crime in the Albuquerque metropolitan area. The investigators utilized a number of investigative techniques, including undercover operations, historical investigation and targeting of multi-convicted felons in possession of firearms.

 

The investigation was undertaken in support 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 collaborate with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution primarily based on their prior criminal convictions with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

 

Parra was charged in indictment filed on June 30, 2016, with distribution of methamphetamine on May 12, 2016, in Bernalillo County, N.M. During today’s proceedings, Parra pled guilty to an information charging him with distribution of methamphetamine and admitted that on May 12, 2016, he distributed methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement agent. At sentencing, Parra faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

 

To date, 54 of the 104 defendants have entered guilty pleas and 18 have been sentenced. The remaining defendants have entered not guilty pleas. Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

 

These cases were investigated by the Albuquerque office of ATF. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Spiers.

ALBUQUERQUE – Ashley Herrera, 28, of Espanola, N.M., was sentenced yesterday afternoon in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for her conviction on attempted bank robbery.

 

Herrera was arrested in July 2016, on a criminal complaint charging her with attempting to rob the Bank of America branch located at 4037 Rodeo Road in Santa Fe, N.M., on Aug. 12, 2015. Herrera subsequently was indicted on Aug. 23, 2016, and charged with attempted bank robbery.

 

On Feb. 21, 2017, Herrera pled guilty to the indictment. and admitted that on Aug. 12, 2015, she attempted to rob the bank by handing a bank teller a note in which she threatened to shoot if the bank teller did not give her money. Herrera acknowledged leaving the bank without obtaining any money. She was later arrested after one of her fingerprints was found on the demand note she handed the bank teller.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Santa Fe Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shana B. Long and Peter J. Eicker prosecuted the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Kevin Scott Gordon, 59, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 21 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release including a mandatory year in a residential reentry program for violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). Gordon will be required to register as a sex offender when he completes his prison sentence.

 

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, or where the offender is a student, and that the sex offender maintain current registrations.

 

Gordon was arrested in March 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with violating SORNA by failing to update his sex offender registration. According to the complaint, Gordon was convicted in May 1983, of rape, sexual deviate conduct, robbery and confinement, and was sentenced to 22 years in prison. In 1983, Gordon escaped from the Indiana State Reformatory, was apprehended in 1990, and remained in custody in Indiana until his release in May 2006.

 

According to court documents, Gordon was arrested for violating SORNA in Dec. 2007, in Colorado, and has a pattern of non-compliance with registration requirements. On Feb. 22, 2016, law enforcement officers in N.M., received information that Gordon was residing in Albuquerque and was not registered as a sex offender in New Mexico.

 

Gordon was subsequently indicted on March 23, 2016, and charged with violating SORNA by failing to update his sex offender registration between May 2015 and March 2016, in Bernalillo County, N.M.

 

On March 2, 2017, Gordon pled guilty to the indictment. In his plea agreement, Gordon admitted that he was convicted in Dec. 1982, of a criminal offense that required him to register under SORNA. Gordon further admitted that before May 15, 2015, he traveled from Colorado to New Mexico, and that he resided in New Mexico between May 2015 and March 2016, but failed to update his sex offender registration in New Mexico as required.

 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Spindle.

ALBUQUERQUE – Victor Hernandez-Pena, 24, a Mexican national illegally in the United States, was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 120 months in prison for violating federal firearms and drug trafficking laws. Hernandez-Pena will be deported after completing his prison sentence.

 

Hernandez-Pena was arrested on April 2, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with distribution of methamphetamine in Bernalillo County, N.M. According to the complaint, on March 24, 2015, Hernandez-Pena sold approximately 55 grams of methamphetamine to an individual working with law enforcement officers.

 

Hernandez-Pena was indicted on a methamphetamine distribution charge on April 28, 2015, and charged with distributing methamphetamine. The indictment was superseded twice, most recently on Oct. 25, 2016. The five-count second superseding indictment charged Hernandez-Pena with distributing methamphetamine on March 4, 2015 and March 24, 2015; possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute on April 2, 2015; and being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and ammunition on April 2, 2015 and Nov. 10, 2014. According to court documents, the Nov. 10, 2014, charge arose out of an incident during which Hernandez-Pena hit a woman with a firearm, which caused the firearm to discharge and injure the victim when the bullet grazed her head. According to the second superseding indictment, Hernandez-Pena committed the crimes in Bernalillo County.

 

On Nov. 11, 2016, Hernandez-Pena pled guilty to the second superseding indictment. In entering the guilty plea, Hernandez-Pena admitted selling methamphetamine to an individual he later learned was working with law enforcement authorities on two occasions in March 2015. More specifically, he admitted selling 2.65 grams of methamphetamine on March 4, 2015, and 51.7 grams of methamphetamine on March 24, 2015. Hernandez-Pena also admitted that on April 2, 2015, he possessed 208.2 grams of methamphetamine, which he intended to distribute to others. He also admitted that on April 2, 2015, he possessed a firearm and ammunition at that same residence. According to the plea agreement, on Nov. 10, 2014, Hernandez-Pena also possessed a handgun and ammunition while sitting in the parking lot of an Albuquerque-area restaurant.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of Homeland Security Investigations and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristopher N. Houghton and Peter J. Eicker prosecuted the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Yolanda Rodriguez, 50, a U.S. citizen who formerly resided in Mexico, was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 15 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for her conviction on drug trafficking and money laundering charges.

 

Rodriguez was convicted on multiple charges contained in a 45-count indictment that was filed in Oct. 2015. The indictment charged Rodriguez and 19 others with participating in a major drug trafficking organization (DTO) that imported large amounts of cocaine, marijuana and heroin from Mexico into the United States. The indictment alleged that members of the DTO distributed the cocaine, marijuana and heroin in Albuquerque and other places in the United States, and smuggled drug proceeds from the United States to Mexico. According to the indictment, the conspiracy operated in Doña Ana, Luna and Bernalillo Counties from Oct. 2014 through Oct. 2015.

 

The indictment was the result of an investigation by the DEA, FBI, IRS and U.S. Border Patrol that was designated as part of the Justice Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, which combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies and their local counterparts in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations. During the investigation, federal agents seized and purchased 6.2 kilograms of cocaine, 2.9 kilograms of methamphetamine, 1039.9 kilograms of marijuana, and 351 grams of heroin. They also seized $267,030.00 in drug proceeds and other assets valued at approximately $153,000.00.

 

On Oct. 6, 2016, a federal jury returned a verdict finding Rodriguez and co-defendant Amado Acevedo-Gonzalez, 36, a Mexican national, guilty on drug trafficking offenses and money laundering charges after a four-day trial. The evidence at trial established that Rodriguez and Acevedo-Gonzalez were part of a Mexican DTO that imported cocaine and marijuana into the United States, and exported the drug proceeds back to Mexico. More specifically, the evidence established that Acevedo-Gonzalez, distributed marijuana for the DTO, and that Rodriguez was a courier who transported drugs and drug proceeds from Albuquerque to Mexico for the DTO.

 

During the trial, the jury learned about the ten-month investigation into the DTO during which court-authorized wiretaps were used to gather evidence that permitted federal agents to learn about shipments of cocaine and marijuana that were transported in tractor-trailers from Mexico to an auto body shop in Albuquerque. From the auto body shop, a member of the DTO coordinated with bosses in Mexico to distribute the drugs, and to collect drug proceeds and transport them back to Mexico. Federal agents testified about this pattern – drugs going north in tractor-trailers and drug proceeds going south – occurred numerous times. Based on their knowledge of this pattern, federal agents were able to seize more than $250,000 in drug proceeds from couriers and a tractor-trailer containing marijuana.

 

Of the 20 defendants charged in the indictment, 13 have been arrested, 11 have entered guilty pleas, two were convicted at trial and the remaining seven are fugitives. The following defendants have entered guilty pleas in this case:

• Rene Amaya-Rivas, 28, a Mexican national who was residing in Odessa, Texas, pled guilty on April 27, 2016, to conspiracy, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and money laundering charges.

• Pablo Alberto Arana-Delgado, 35, a Mexican national who was residing in El Paso, Texas, pled guilty on June 8, 2016, to conspiracy and possession of cocaine and marijuana with intent to distribute charges, and was sentenced on Dec. 14, 2016, to 36 months in prison. He will be deported after completing his prison sentence.

• Elier Gabriel Jaime-Castillo, 35, a Mexican national illegally present in the United States, pled guilty on Aug. 30, 2016, to conspiracy, money laundering, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and use of a communication device to facilitate a drug trafficking crime charges, and was sentenced on June 2, 2017, to 46 months in prison. He will be deported after completing his prison sentence.

• Acevedo-Gonzalez, was found guilty at trial on Oct. 6, 2016, of participating in the drug trafficking conspiracy, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and using a communication device to facilitate drug trafficking crimes, and was sentenced on June 2, 2017, to time served and will be deported.

• Mauricio Ledezma, 23, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty on Dec. 8, 2015, to misprision of a felony, and was sentenced on April 6, 2016, to 24 months of probation.

• Cerbando Carbajal, 20, of Columbus, N.M., pled guilty on March 29, 2016, to conspiracy and money laundering charges, and was sentenced on Nov. 3, 2016, to time served.

• Emilia Quezada, 31, a U.S. citizen who was residing in Chihuahua, Mexico, pled guilty on April 1, 2016, to conspiracy and money laundering charges, and was sentenced on Feb. 9, 2017, to 18 months in prison.

• George A. Taylor, 55, of Deming, N.M., pled guilty on April 20, 2016, to conspiracy, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and money laundering charges, and was sentenced on March 17, 2017, to 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

• Grisel H. Majalca, 32 of Columbus, N.M., pled guilty on Aug. 3, 2016, to conspiracy, use of a communication device to facilitate a drug trafficking crime and money laundering charges, and was sentenced on Feb. 9, 2017, to 12 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

• Leonardo Martinez-Olivas, 49, a Mexican national, pled guilty on May 11, 2016, to conspiracy and money laundering charges, and was sentenced on Nov. 1, 2016, to 12 months in prison. He will be deported after completing his prison sentenced.

• Neftali Garcia-Torres, 20, a Mexican national, pled guilty on Sept. 14, 2016, to misprision of a felony, and was sentenced on June 1, 2017, to two years of probation.

• Carlos Adrian Ortega-Acevedes, 25, a Mexican national pled guilty on March 3, 2017, to conspiracy and international money laundering charges.

 

The following defendants, all Mexican nationals, have yet to be arrested and are considered fugitives: Edgar Estopellan-Torres, Ignacio Villalobos-Salinas, 30, Angel Daniel Silva-Silva, 31, Rigoberto Estopellan-Torres, 35, Jesus Muñoz-Lechuga, 36, Emilio Delgado-Olivas, 43, and Jesus Gilberto Varela-Sanchez, 28. Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

The case was investigated by the Las Cruces offices of the DEA, FBI, IRS and the U.S. Border Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Selesia L. Winston and Renee L. Camacho of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office are prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Greg Miera, 51, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 78 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his armed bank robbery conviction.

 

Miera was arrested was arrested in March 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him and four co-defendants, Christian Herrera, 20, Isaiah Gallegos, 22, Christopher Gallegos, 33, and Martin Huertta, 44, all of Albuquerque, with bank robbery. According to the complaint, a source identified the defendants as the individuals involved in robbing the US Bank branch located at 5620 Wyoming Blvd. NE in Albuquerque, on March 30, 2016. Albuquerque Police Department (APD) officers conducted surveillance as a vehicle with four men pulled up to the US Bank on the afternoon of March 30, 2016. Three of the men remained in the vehicle while the fourth entered the bank, threatened to shoot the bank employees, and demanded that two bank tellers place cash into a plastic bag.

 

Huertta, Miera, Herrera, Isaiah Gallegos and Christopher Gallegos were indicted on April 27, 2016, and charged with bank robbery.

 

On Oct. 11, 2016, Miera entered a guilty plea to the indictment and admitted participating in the armed robbery of the U.S. Bank branch in Albuquerque on March 30, 2016.

 

Miera’s four co-defendants have entered guilty pleas and one has been sentenced. Huertta pled guilty on Sept. 9, 2016 and was sentenced on March 14, 2017 to 108 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Isaiah Gallegos entered a guilty plea on April 25, 2017, Christopher Gallegos entered a guilty plea on Feb. 13, 2017, and Herrera entered a guilty plea on Feb. 24, 2017. At sentencing, Isaiah Gallegos, Herrera, and Christopher Gallegos each face a statutory maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison. They remain in custody pending sentencing hearings.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Albuquerque Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Letitia C. Simms is prosecuting the case.