District of New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE – Richard Howieson, 56, of Costilla, N.M., pled guilty this afternoon in Albuquerque, N.M., to a federal carjacking charge. The plea agreement recommends that Howieson be sentenced to a term of imprisonment within the range of 12 to 36 months followed by a period of supervised release to be determined by the court.

 

Howieson was arrested on Oct. 11, 2016, on a three-count indictment charging him with carjacking, carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The indictment was superseded on Feb. 7, 2017, to charge Howieson with carjacking and carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. According to the indictment, Howieson committed these crimes on Feb. 19, 2013, in Taos County, N.M.

 

During today’s proceedings, Howieson pled guilty to a felony information charging him with carjacking on Feb. 19, 2013. Howieson remains in federal custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Santa Fe office of the FBI and the New Mexico State Police, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney George Kraehe.

ALBUQUERQUE – Joe Medina, 38, of Rio Rancho, N.M., was sentenced this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., for his conviction for enticing a child to travel in interstate commerce for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity. Medina will serve an eight-year term of imprisonment to be followed by 15 years of supervised release. Medina will be required to register as a sex offender after completing his prison sentence.

 

Medina’s sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney, Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division, and Acting Police Chief Paul Rogers of the Rio Rancho Police Department (RRPD).

 

Medina was arrested in Indianapolis, Ind., on July 20, 2015, based on a federal arrest warrant issued on a criminal complaint filed by the FBI in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico. According to the criminal complaint, on July 9, 2015, the victim’s mother filed a missing person’s report to the RRPD asserting that the victim was missing.

 

The RRPD’s investigation revealed that Medina took the victim to Denver, Colo., where they boarded a bus. On July 12, 2015, Medina was arrested on a New Mexico state warrant when Medina and the victim were found on a bus that had stopped in Indianapolis.

 

Medina was indicted on Aug. 11, 2015, and was charged with transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity between July 9, 2015 and July 12, 2015, and production of a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

 

On Nov. 7, 2016, Medina pled guilty to a felony information charging him with coercion and enticement. In entering the guilty plea, Medina admitted that from July 9, 2015 through July 12, 2015, he enticed the 16-years-old victim to leave Sandoval County, N.M., with the intent to travel to New York, where Medina intended to engage in illegal sexual activity.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI, RRPD, Corrales Police Department and the New Mexico Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory. The 13th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service, Indiana State Police and FBI in Denver and Indianapolis assisted in the investigation.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Mease 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.

ALBUQUERQUE – Steven Baros, 34, of Espanola, N.M., pled guilty this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to an assault charge. The plea agreement includes a recommendation that Baros be sentenced to a term of imprisonment within the range of 18 to 24 months followed by a period of supervised release to be determined by the court.

 

Baros was charged by criminal complaint on May 17, 2016, with assault resulting in serious bodily injury and assault with a dangerous weapon. According to the complaint, Baros assaulted his intimate partner, a Zuni Pueblo woman, by punching and kicking her arms and legs, kicking and stomping on her head, throwing her to the ground, and threatening her with a knife. Baros also attempted to set the victim’s house on fire before leaving in the victim’s vehicle.

 

Baros subsequently was indicted on June 30, 2016, and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, a knife, and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. According to the indictment, Baros committed these crimes on May 5, 2016, on Nambe Pueblo in Santa Fe County, N.M.

 

During today’s proceedings, Baros pled guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury. In entering the guilty plea, Baros admitted that on May 5, 2016, he assaulted the victim by punching and kicking her arms and legs, pulling her hair, throwing her to the ground, and kicking her when she was on the ground.

 

Baros remains in federal custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Northern Pueblos Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Marshall is prosecuting the 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 – Matthew Joel Torres, 27, an enrolled member of the Mescalero Apache Nation who resides in Mescalero, N.M., was sentenced this afternoon in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 35 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for his assault conviction.

 

Torres was arrested on April 18, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with assaulting a Mescalero Apache man by stabbing him twice in the stomach. Torres committed the assault on June 13, 2015, on the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation in Otero County, N.M.

 

Torres pled guilty on Aug. 24, 2016, to a felony information charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon. In entering the guilty plea, Torres admitted that on June 13, 2015, he assaulted the victim by stabbing him in the abdomen twice with a knife with the intention of causing the victim bodily harm.

 

This case was investigated by the Mescalero Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron O. Jordan of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

ALBUQUERQUE – Ignacio Salcido Jr., 38, of Las Cruces, N.M., pled guilty last week in federal court to transporting a minor in interstate commerce for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity. The plea agreement recommends that Salcido be sentenced to a term of imprisonment within the range of 120 to 135 months to be followed by a period of supervised release to be determined by the court. In the plea agreement, Salcido agreed to pay $210,012 in restitution to any victim who requests restitution prior to sentencing. Salcido will also be required to register as a sex offender.

 

Salcido was arrested on Aug. 26, 2016, by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on a criminal complaint alleging that he transported a child under the age of 18 years in interstate commerce on Aug. 22 and 23, 2016, with the intention of engaging in sexual activity. According to the criminal complaint, Salcido traveled with the victim from Phoenix, Ariz., to Juarez, Mexico, then to Las Cruces, and engaged in sexual activity with the victim during that time. Salcido subsequently was indicted on the same charge on Nov. 9, 2016.

 

According to court documents, Salcido picked up the victim on the side of the road in Phoenix on Aug. 22, 2016, while traveling with two other individuals (witnesses) from San Diego, Calif. Court documents further allege that the witnesses observed Salcido attempt to sexually abuse the victim on several occasions during the trip while the victim was sleeping in the vehicle. Later that day, Salcido drove the victim and the witnesses into Juarez, where he again attempted to sexually abuse the victim while the witnesses were not in the vehicle. After returning to the United States, Salcido drove the victim and the witnesses to his residence in Las Cruces. At his residence, Salcido allegedly forced the victim to engage in sexual activity. The investigation into Salcido began on, Aug. 23, 2016, when one of the witnesses reported the sexual assault to school officials in Las Cruces.

 

On April 12, 2017, Salcido pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on Aug. 22, 2016, he transported the victim, who was under the age of 18 years, in interstate commerce for the purpose of engaging in sexual intercourse with the victim. Salcido remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of HSI and the Las Cruces Police Department with assistance from the 3rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander B. Shapiro and Aaron O. Jordan of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office are 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/.

ALBUQUERQUE – Christian Hugo Contreras, 34, a Mexican national residing in El Paso, Tex., was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 97 months in prison for his role in a marijuana trafficking and money laundering ring operating in southeastern New Mexico and west Texas. Contreras will be deported after completing his prison sentence.

 

Contreras was one of twelve defendants facing drug trafficking and money laundering charges as the result of a multi-agency investigation targeting marijuana traffickers and money launderers operating in southeastern New Mexico and west Texas. The charges against the defendants, which are contained in three separate federal indictments, were the result of an investigation that began in Oct. 2014, and initially targeted a marijuana trafficking organization allegedly led by Rodolfo Lopez, 33, of El Paso, that transported marijuana from El Paso to Chaves County, N.M., and Lubbock, Tex. The investigation expanded to include two smaller drug trafficking organizations that transported marijuana to Lubbock through Chaves County and Eddy County, N.M. 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.

 

In one case, ten of the members of the marijuana importation and distribution ring, including Contreras, were charged in a 42-count indictment with drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracies and a series of drug and money laundering substantive offenses. The indictment charged all ten defendants with participating in a marijuana trafficking conspiracy between Nov. 2014 and April 2015 that distributed more than 100 kilograms of marijuana in Chaves County and other places. It also charged six of the defendants with participating in a conspiracy to launder the proceeds of their marijuana trafficking activities. Two defendants were charged with maintaining premises in Roswell, N.M., for the purpose of storing marijuana, and three defendants were charged with using a communications facility, telephones, to further the commission of drug trafficking crimes. The indictment also included 26 counts charging certain defendants with drug trafficking crimes and two counts charging certain defendants with money laundering.

 

In a separate case, Contreras and four other defendants were charged in another marijuana trafficking conspiracy. The indictment in that case charged the defendants with participating in a marijuana trafficking conspiracy between March 1, 2015 and March 24, 2015, in Chaves County. It also charged four of the defendants with possessing marijuana in Eddy County on March 23, 2015, with the intention of distributing it to others.

 

A third case charged three defendants with conspiracy to commit a marijuana trafficking crime in Eddy County between Feb. 12, 2015 and Feb. 26, 2015. Two of the defendants were also charged with possession of marijuana in Eddy County on Feb. 26, 2015, with the intention of distributing it to others.

 

On Nov. 13, 2015, Contreras entered guilty pleas in the two cases in which he was charged. With respect to the first case, Contreras pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana, conspiracy to commit money laundering, eight counts of using a communication device to facilitate drug trafficking crimes, and 11 counts of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and money laundering. In the second case, Contreras pled guilty to two counts of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty pleas, Contreras admitted that from Nov. 24, 2015 through April 11, 2015, he conspired with his co-defendants to transport between 100 and 400 kilograms of marijuana through New Mexico.

 

To date, ten of the 12 defendants charged in the three cases have entered guilty pleas and nine have been sentenced. Rodolfo Lopez, 31, of El Paso, and Emmanuel Lopez-Tellez, 33, a Mexican national have yet to be arrested and are considered fugitives. Charges in indictments are only accusations. All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

These cases are the result of an investigation by the Las Cruces offices of the DEA and IRS Criminal Investigation, the Hatch Police Department, the Sunland Police Department, the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force, the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force, the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office. The El Paso office of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas and the Lubbock office of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas assisted in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah M. Davenport of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting these cases.

 

The Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of officers and investigators from the Chaves County Sheriff’s Office and the Roswell Police Department, and the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force is comprised of officers and investigators from the Artesia Police Department, Carlsbad Police Department, Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, FBI, HSI, the Probation and Parole Division of the New Mexico Corrections Department and the 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Both Task Forces are 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 – A federal grand jury sitting in Albuquerque, N.M., has filed an indictment charging Kirby Cleveland, 32, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation from Prewitt, N.M., with charges arising out of the murder of Houston James Largo, a tribal police officer of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety. Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney, Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division, and Director Jesse Delmar of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety announced the filing of the indictment.

 

Cleveland is scheduled to be arraigned on the eight-count indictment at 9:30 a.m. on April 20, 2017 in the federal courthouse in Albuquerque. The indictment charges Cleveland with the following offenses:

• Count 1, murdering an officer and employee of the United States who was engaged in the performance of his official duties;

• Count 2, committing felony murder while escaping from an institution of confinement;

• Count 3, first-degree murder;

• Count 4, escaping from an institution of confinement where he was confined after his conviction on a felony offense;

• Count 5, using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, the murder an officer and employee of the United States as charged in Count 1;

• Count 6, using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, felony murder as charged in Count 2;

• Count 7, using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, first-degree murder as charged in Count 3; and

• Count 8, being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

 

The charges in the indictment arise out of the alleged murder of Officer Largo on the night of March 11, 2017, while the Officer was responding to a domestic violence call on the Navajo Indian Reservation in McKinley County, N.M. The charges also arise from Cleveland’s alleged escape between Feb. 26, 2017 and March 11, 2017, from a halfway house in Albuquerque in Bernalillo County, N.M., where he was confined by order of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

 

Counts 1, 2, 5 and 6 of the indictment each carry a maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment upon conviction, and the indictment includes “Special Findings” under 18 U.S.C. § 3591 with respect to these four death-eligible offenses. The Special Findings preserve the United States’ ability to seek the death penalty. The Attorney General of the United States will decide whether or not to seek the death penalty based on the recommendation of the U.S. Attorney and after carefully considering the defendant’s background and the circumstances of the crime.

 

The maximum penalties upon conviction for the other offenses charged in the indictment are: Count 3, the first-degree murder charge, life imprisonment; Count 4, the escape charge, five years of imprisonment; Count 7, using a firearm during and in relation to first-degree murder charge, imprisonment for a minimum of ten years and a maximum of life; and Count 8, the felon in possession charge, ten years of imprisonment. The sentence imposed on Count 7 must be served consecutive to any sentence imposed on the other charges.

 

Cleveland was arrested on tribal charges on March 12, 2017, by the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and remained in tribal custody until March 20, 2017, when the tribal charges against him were dismissed. Immediately upon dismissal of the tribal charges, the FBI arrested Cleveland on a federal criminal complaint charging him with killing Officer Largo. Cleveland has been in federal custody since that time and will remain in custody pending trial on the indictment.

 

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

 

The Gallup and Albuquerque offices of the FBI and the Crownpoint, Shiprock and Chinle offices of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety investigated this case, with assistance from the New Mexico State Police, McKinley County Sheriff’s Office, Albuquerque Police Department and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Niki Tapia-Brito and Michael Murphy are prosecuting the case.

 

Cleveland Indictment

ALBUQUERQUE – Daniel Roy Nard, 38, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 15 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). Nard 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.

 

Nard was charged by indictment on Dec. 17, 2015, with violating SORNA by failing to update his sex offender registration on Oct. 30, 2015, or thereafter. Nard was required to register as a sex offender and to maintain an updated registration based on a federal child pornography conviction in Montana in 2007. According to the indictment, Nard was required to maintain an updated sex offender registration in Bernalillo County, N.M.

 

On Jan. 9, 2017, Nard pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement.

 

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 Jon K. Stanford.

ALBUQUERQUE – Two Albuquerque men pled guilty and two others were sentenced today in federal court for violating federal drug trafficking and firearms laws. Simon Shields, 37, pled guilty to a methamphetamine trafficking charge, and Adrian Hammond, 30, pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Jovas Brown, 30, was sentenced to 36 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction, and Andrew Kyle, 36, was sentenced to time served followed by three years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

 

Shields, Hammond, Brown and Kyle were arrested during 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.

 

Shields and his co-defendant Ray Martinez, 45, were charged in an indictment with conspiracy and methamphetamine trafficking offenses. The indictment was subsequently superseded on July 28, 2016, to include David Corral-Valenzuela, 45. The superseding indictment charged Martinez and Shields with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine on June 13, 2016, Shields and Corral-Valenzuela with conspiracy and distribution of methamphetamine on June 21, 2016, and Corral-Valenzuela with being an alien in possession of a firearm and illegal reentry into the United States on July 6, 2016. The superseding indictment included forfeiture provisions requiring the co-defendants to forfeit $6,550 to the United States. During today’s proceedings, Shields pled guilty to Count 2 of the superseding indictment charging him with distribution of methamphetamine and admitted that on June 13, 2016, he aided and abetted his co-defendant by transporting approximately 56.8 grams of methamphetamine, which was later sold to an undercover law enforcement agent. Shields further admitted that he assisted another co-defendant in selling methamphetamine on June 21, 2016. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Shields will be sentenced within the range of 87 to 108 months in prison.

 

Hammond was charged in a criminal complaint on June 27, 2016, with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on June 26, 2016, in Bernalillo County. Hammond was subsequently indicted on the same charge on July 12, 2016. According to the indictment, Hammond was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his prior felony convictions for theft by taking, obstruction of law enforcement officer, being a felon in possession of a firearm, false imprisonment and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. During today’s proceedings, Hammond pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition on June 26, 2016, because of his status as a convicted felon. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Hammond will be sentenced within the range of 36 to 40 months in prison.

 

Brown and his co-defendant Brent Williams, 35, were charged in an indictment with conspiracy and distribution of methamphetamine on May 16, 2016, distribution of crack cocaine on May 26, 2016, and Williams individually with distribution of methamphetamine on May 23, 2016 and June 7, 2016. On Dec. 7, 2016, Brown pled guilty to a felony information and admitted that on May 16, 2016, he distributed approximately 58.8 grams of methamphetamine.

 

Kyle was charged by indictment on July 28, 2016, with being a felon in possession of a firearm on June 22, 2016, in Bernalillo County, N.M. Kyle was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his prior conviction of possession of a controlled substance. Kyle pled guilty to the indictment on Nov. 4, 2016, without the benefit of a plea agreement.

 

To date, 42 of the 104 defendants have entered guilty pleas and 15 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. Shields is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly A. Brawley and Paul Mysliwiec; Hammond is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Presiliano Torrez; Brown was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David M. Walsh and Norman Cairns; and Kyle was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rumaldo R. Armijo.

ALBUQUERQUE – Javier Madrid, 29, of Roswell, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 41 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for violating the federal narcotics trafficking and firearms laws.

 

Madrid was arrested in Nov. 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine with intent to distribute and being a felon in possession of ammunition. According to the complaint, on July 31, 2015, law enforcement agents executed a federal search warrant on Madrid’s residence and vehicle in Roswell where they discovered 17 grams of methamphetamine, 25 grams of heroin, 42 grams of cocaine, $3,960 in cash, and multiple rounds of ammunition.

 

Madrid was subsequently indicted on Feb. 17, 2016, and charged with possession of methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine with intent to distribute and being a felon in possession of ammunition. According to the indictment, Madrid committed these crimes on July 31, 2015, in Chaves County, N.M. At the time, Madrid was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of a narcotics trafficking crime.

 

On April 27, 2016, Madrid pled guilty to the indictment. In entering the guilty plea, Madrid admitted that on July 31, 2015, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at his home and seized methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine, which he intended to distribute to others. Madrid also admitted that the agents seized multiple rounds of ammunition during the search, which he was prohibited from possessing because of his prior felony convictions.

 

This case was investigated by the Roswell office of the FBI, the New Mexico State Police and the Roswell Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy M. Castellano of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office 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, Bernalillo County Commissioner Maggie Hart Stebbins, Albuquerque City Councilor Diane Gibson, 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 – Cowey Edsitty, 32, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 115 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

 

Edsitty was arrested in July 2016, on an indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on May 3, 2016, in McKinley County, N.M. According to court documents, Edsitty was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his prior felony convictions for residential burglary, assault with intent to commit a violent felony, aggravated battery, and aggravated fleeing from a law enforcement officer.

 

On Dec. 15, 2016, Edsitty pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement.

 

This case was investigated by the Gallup office of the FBI and the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elaine Y. Ramirez prosecuted the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Justin Krantz, 32, of Aztec, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Krantz will be sentenced to 57 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

 

Krantz arrested in Nov. 2016, on an indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on May 4, 2016, in San Juan County, N.M. According to the indictment, Krantz was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his prior conviction on drug trafficking charges.

 

During today’s proceedings, Krantz pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on May 4, 2016, he was in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Krantz further admitted that he was prohibited from being in possession of firearms or ammunition because of his prior felony convictions. Krantz remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eva Fontanez is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Travis Arthur Mustache, 34, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, N.M., pled guilty this morning in Albuquerque, N.M., to federal involuntary manslaughter and assault charges.

 

Mustache was arrested in March 2017, on an indictment charging him with involuntary manslaughter and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. According to the complaint, Mustache killed one victim and seriously injured another while driving his vehicle under the influence of alcohol on the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M., on June 15, 2016.

 

During today’s proceedings, Mustache pled guilty to the indictment and admitted killing one victim and assaulting the second victim, causing her to sustain serious bodily injury, by driving recklessly while under the influence of alcohol. Mustache acknowledged that the alcohol rendered him incapable of exercising clear judgment and a steady hand in operating the vehicle. According to plea agreement, the second victim suffered from rib fractures, a liver laceration, bruised lung tissue and scalp bruises.

 

At sentencing, Mustache faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI, the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and the New Mexico State Police and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Mease.

ALBUQUERQUE –Javier Amador-Flores, 50, a permanent resident from Mexico who lived in Denver City, Tex., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 120 months in prison for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction. Amador-Flores will be deported after he completes his prison sentence

 

Amador-Flores was arrested on July 29, 2015, on an indictment charging him and four co-defendants, Joel Dominguez-Morales, 41, Maria Marcelina Cardoza-Burciaga, 41, Jose Manuel Trujillo, 42, all Mexican nationals, and Myrna Orozco, 32, a U.S. citizen, with participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Lea County, N.M., from May 1, 2015 through May 6, 2015.

 

Amador-Flores elected to proceed to trial and was found guilty July 20, 2016. The evidence at trial established that participated in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy by receiving and storing shipments of methamphetamine at the residence he shared with Orozco. Other members of the conspiracy distributed the methamphetamine in Lea County.

 

According to court documents, on May 1, 2015, an undercover agent arranged to purchase methamphetamine from Trujillo. On May 6, 2015, Trujillo informed the undercover agent that Dominguez-Morales would deliver the methamphetamine to the agent. Thereafter, Dominguez-Morales met with the undercover agent at a restaurant in Hobbs and directed the agent to meet him at an abandoned bar in a rural area outside of Hobbs, where a woman would deliver the methamphetamine. Later that day, law enforcement officers arrested Dominguez-Morales and Cardoza-Burciaga near the abandoned bar and seized almost four kilograms of methamphetamine.

 

Dominguez-Morales pled guilty on Sept. 4, 2015, and was sentenced on Sept. 21, 2016, to 145 months in prison. Cardoza-Burciaga pled guilty on Aug. 26, 2015, and was sentenced on Aug. 17, 2016. Orozco pled guilty on Nov. 6, 2015, and was sentenced on March 29, 2017.

 

Trujillo has yet to be arrested and is considered a fugitive. The charges against Trujillo are merely accusations and he is presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

 

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Lea County Drug Task Force, with assistance from the Yoakum County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brock Taylor and Matthew Beck of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office are 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 NM 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 – Troy Montoya, 24, of Espanola, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a bank robbery charge. The guilty plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney, Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI, Sheriff Jerry L. Hogrefe of the Taos County Sheriff’s Department and Town Marshal David Smith of the Red River Marshal’s Office.

 

Montoya, and co-defendants Jennifer Marissa Miera, 23, of Questa, N.M., and Shawn Michael Goodrum, Jr., 20, of Pima, Ariz., were arrested in Oct. 2016, on a criminal complaint charging them with offenses arising out of the robbery of the People’s Bank located at 121 East Main Street in Red River, N.M., on Oct. 6, 2016.

 

According to the complaint, Miera, conspired with Montoya to rob the bank by planning the robbery and purchasing items used to carry out the robbery, including gloves and medical masks, on Oct. 5, 2016. It further alleged that Miera and Montoya robbed the bank on Oct. 6, 2016. At the time, Miera was employed as a personal banker by the bank. The complaint alleged that Miera had attempted unsuccessfully to solicit Goodrum’s participation in the bank robbery conspiracy. Instead, Goodrum allegedly blackmailed Miera into giving him part of the proceeds from the robbery by threatening to report her role in the robbery to the police.

 

Montoya, Miera and Goodrum were indicted on Nov. 1, 2016. The three-count indictment charged Miera and Montoya with conspiracy to rob the bank and with bank robbery, and Goodrum with receiving proceeds from the bank robbery. According to the indictment, the defendants committed the crimes in Taos County, N.M.

 

During today’s proceedings, Montoya pled guilty to Count 1 of the indictment charging him with conspiracy. In entering the guilty plea, Montoya admitted that from Oct. 5 through 11, 2016, he acted with Miera and helped her facilitate the robbery of the People’s Bank in Red River on Oct. 6, 2016. Montoya did so by meeting with Miera to plan the bank robbery, purchasing disguise items, preparing a demand note and serving as the get-away driver of the bank robbery. At sentencing, Montoya faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

 

On March 14, 2017, Miera pled guilty to Counts 1 and 2 of the indictment charging her with conspiracy and bank robbery without the benefit of a plea agreement. At sentencing, Miera faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

 

Goodrum has entered a plea of not guilty to the charge against him in the indictment and is pending trial, which currently is scheduled for May 22, 2017 in Santa Fe, N.M. Charges in criminal complaints and indictment are merely accusations. Criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI, the Taos County Sheriff’s Office, and the Red River Marshal’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul H. Spiers.

ALBUQUERQUE – Saul Cerros, 36, of Northglenn, Colo., pled guilty yesterday in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to methamphetamine trafficking charges. The guilty plea was entered under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

 

Cerros was arrested on Sept. 28, 2016, on a four-count indictment charging him with methamphetamine trafficking charges. Count 1 charged Cerros with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine in March 2015. The indictment also charged Cerros with distributing methamphetamine twice on March 27, 2015, and again on March 31, 2015. According to the indictment, Cerros committed the offenses in Dona Ana County, N.M.

 

During yesterday’s proceedings, Cerros pled guilty to the indictment. In entering the guilty plea, Cerros admitted selling an aggregate of 891.56 grams of pure methamphetamine to undercover law enforcement agents on three separate occasions; twice on March 27, 2015, and a third time on March 31, 2015. Cerros further admitted that he personally smuggled the methamphetamine involved in one of the drug deals into the United States from Mexico.

 

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

 

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI and the HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Segovia of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

 

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.

ALBUQUERQUE – Sheldon Harris, 28, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 114 months in prison for violating the Hobbs Act by robbing two Albuquerque-area fast food restaurants and brandishing a firearm during the robberies. Harris will be on supervised release for two years following his prison sentence. Harris was also ordered to pay restitution to the fast food restaurants.

 

Harris was arrested on April 20, 2016, on a ten-count indictment charging him with: robbing Albuquerque-area Subway restaurants on Aug. 22, 2015, Sept. 6, 2015, Sept. 8, 2016, Sept. 26, 2015, and Oct. 5, 2015; robbing Albuquerque-area Blake’s Lotaburger restaurants on Oct. 1, 2015, Oct. 5, 2015, Oct. 11, 2015, and Oct. 18, 2015; and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence from Aug. 22, 2015 through Oct. 18, 2015. According to the indictment, Harris committed the crimes in Bernalillo County, N.M.

 

On Sept. 12, 2016, Harris pled guilty to Counts 8 and 9 of the indictment, each charging him with violating the Hobbs Act by robbing a business engaged in interstate commerce. He also pled guilty to Count 10, charging him with brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. In entering the guilty plea, Harris admitted that on Oct. 11, 2015 and Oct. 18, 2015, he robbed Blake’s Lotaburger restaurants at gunpoint. Harris further admitted that when he robbed the Blake’s Lotaburger restaurants and several other restaurants in the Albuquerque-area, he used a firearm.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Albuquerque Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel A. Hurtado prosecuted this 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 – Joshua Greene, 19, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to heroin trafficking charges. Greene’s plea agreement includes a recommendation that Greene be sentenced within the range of 60 to 87 months in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court. The plea agreement also requires Greene to forfeit $28,135 in cash, a handgun and a gold necklace set with 1,728 natural diamonds valued at $11,555, and to pay a money judgment in the amount of $28,250.

 

Greene and co-defendant Kayleb Reyos, 22, were arrested in May 2016, as the result of a DEA investigation into heroin and methamphetamine trafficking in northwest Albuquerque. The complaint alleges that Greene and Reyos sold an aggregate of 36 ounces (2.25 pounds) of heroin and 3 ounces (.18 pounds) of methamphetamine to undercover law enforcement agents during a series of transactions occurring between Feb. 2016 and May 2016. The two men were arrested when the DEA executed a federal search warrant at their residence in northwest Albuquerque. During the search, the DEA seized an additional pound of heroin, bulk amounts of cash, a handgun, and drug paraphernalia.

 

Greene and Reyos were subsequently charged in a ten-count indictment filed on June 14, 2016. The indictment charged Greene and Reyos with conspiracy to distribute heroin from Feb. 2016 to May 2016. It also charged the two defendants with distributing heroin on Feb. 25, 2016, April 12, 2016, and May 4, 2016, and distributing methamphetamine on March 23, 2016. Greene separately was charged with distributing heroin on Feb. 4, 2016, March 9, 2016, and March 22, 2016, and possessing heroin with intent to distribute on May 17, 2016. Reyos separately was also charged with possessing heroin with intent to distribute on May 17, 2016.

 

During today’s proceedings, Greene pled guilty to a felony information charging him with conspiracy and distribution of heroin. In entering the guilty plea, Green admitted that from Feb. 4, 2016 through May 17, 2016 he directed a small-scale drug trafficking organization in the northwest Albuquerque. Greene further admitted that on March 22, 2016, he sold approximately 135.1 grams of heroin to an undercover law enforcement agent. Greene remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

 

Reyos has entered a plea of not guilty to the charges against him in the indictment. Charges in criminal complaints and indictments 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. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristopher Houghton and Alexander Uballez are prosecuting 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, Bernalillo County Commissioner Maggie Hart Stebbins, Albuquerque City Councilor Diane Gibson, 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 – Andrew Barnett, 36, and Summer Provencio, 36, both of Las Cruces, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to conspiring to create and pass counterfeit U.S. currency.

 

Barnett and Provencio, together with co-defendants Victoria Perez, 41, and Patrick Fernandez, 33, both of Las Cruces, were charged in a 183-count indictment filed on Feb. 15, 2017. Count 1 of the indictment charged the four defendants with conspiring to create fraudulent U.S. currency from April 2016 through Sept. 2016. Counts 2 to 57 charged Barnett alone with manufacturing counterfeit currency in various denominations from April 2016 through Sept. 2016. Counts 58 to 116 charged Barnett and Perez with manufacturing counterfeit currency in $20 denominations on May 8, 2016. Counts 117 to 124 charged Barnett and Provencio with using counterfeit currency to make purchases on April 18, 2016; and Counts 125 to 183 charged Barnett, Perez and Fernandez with using counterfeit currency to make purchases on May 8, 2016. According to the indictment, the defendants committed these offenses in Dona Ana County, N.M.

 

During today’s proceedings, Barnett pled guilty to Count 1 of the indictment charging him with conspiracy. In entering the guilty plea, Barnett admitted that from April 2016 through Sept. 2016, he conspired with his co-defendants to manufacture and use counterfeit U.S. currency. According to his plea agreement, on April 18, 2016, Barnett created eight counterfeit five-dollar bills by scanning a real five-dollar bill and printing copies on a home printer. Barnett gave the counterfeit bills to Provencio, who used the bills to pay for hair and nail products at a Las Cruces beauty supply store. On May 8, 2016, Barnett created about 125 counterfeit $20 bills by printing copies on a home printer; this counterfeit currency was used to make purchases at a Las Cruces auto salvage business.

 

Provencio also pled guilty today to the conspiracy count of the indictment, and admitted that on April 18, 2016, she used eight counterfeit five-dollar bills created by Barnett on a home printer to make a purchase at a Las Cruces beauty supply store.

 

At sentencing, Barnett and Provencio each face a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. Sentencing hearings have yet to be scheduled.

 

Perez and Fernandez have entered not guilty pleas to the charges in the indictment. 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 Las Cruces office of Homeland Security Investigations and the Las Cruces Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Balla of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Douglas Humilestewa, 53 of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 30 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). Humilestewa 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.

 

Humilestewa was charged by indictment on Feb. 9, 2016, with violating SORNA by failing to update his sex offender registration on Nov. 15, 2015 or thereafter. According to the indictment, Humilestewa was required to maintain an updated sex offender registration while residing in Bernalillo County, N.M.

 

On Dec. 1, 2016, Humilestewa pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement.

 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Walsh.

ALBUQUERQUE – Johnathon Jacob Rios, 48, of El Paso, Texas, was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 33 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his heroin trafficking conviction.

 

Rios was arrested in June 2016, and was charged in a criminal complaint with a heroin trafficking offense after the DEA seized approximately 788.10 grams of heroin from him during an interdiction investigation at the Greyhound Bus Station in Albuquerque. The heroin was contained in a bundle that was concealed under Rios’ clothes.

 

Rios was subsequently indicted on July 12, 2016, and charged with possession of heroin with intent to distribute on June 17, 2016, in Bernalillo County, N.M.

 

On Dec. 1, 2016, Rios pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of heroin with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Rios admitted transporting 788.1 grams of heroin from Phoenix, Ariz., to Albuquerque on a Greyhound bus by concealing the heroin under his clothes.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA. Assistant U.S. Attorney Presiliano Torrez prosecuted this 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 – Bernadette Aurora Tapia, 49, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 21 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for her methamphetamine trafficking conviction.

 

Bernadette Aurora Tapia (Tapia) and her co-defendants Gaspar Leal, 47, Brandon Candelaria, 22 and Candace Tapia, 22, were arrested during 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.

 

Tapia and her co-defendants were charged by indictment on July 12, 2016, with conspiracy and distribution of methamphetamine on June 8, 2016, in Bernalillo County. On Dec. 13, 2016, Tapia pled guilty to conspiracy and admitted that on June 8, 2016, she agreed with others to distribute methamphetamine to another person.

 

To date, 40 of the 104 defendants have entered guilty pleas and 13 have been sentenced. The remaining defendants including Leal, Candelaria and Candace Tapia, 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. Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel A. Hurtado prosecuted the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Abel Lopez, 31, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty this morning in federal court to bank robbery charges. His plea agreement includes a recommendation that Lopez be sentenced within the range of 27 to 33 months in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

 

Lopez and co-defendants William Colbert, 38, and Joleen Sedillo, 42, both of Albuquerque, were arrested in July 2016, on a criminal complaint charging them with bank robbery offenses. According to the criminal complaint, Sedillo, Lopez and Colbert robbed Bank of the West branches located at 5401 Central Ave. NE and 7900 Wyoming Blvd. NE on June 22, 2016 and June 27, 2016, respectively, and attempted to rob the Bank of the West branch located at 5228 Central Ave. SW on July 14, 2016.

 

Sedillo, Lopez and Colbert were indicted on Aug. 10, 2016, and charged with conspiracy to commit bank robbery in June and July 2016; bank robbery on June 22, 2016 and June 27, 2016; and attempted bank robbery on July 14, 2016. According to the indictment, the three defendants committed the crimes in Bernalillo County, N.M.

 

During this morning’s proceedings, Lopez pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank robbery and to aiding and abetting an attempted bank robbery. In entering the guilty plea, Lopez admitted accompanying his co-defendants to the Bank of the West branches they planned to rob. Lopez further admitted that on July 14, 2016, he entered a Bank of the West branch to check for security, then communicated an “all clear” to a co-defendant so that the co-defendant could rob the bank.

 

On April 5, 2017, Colbert pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank robbery and to aiding and abetting an attempted bank robbery. In entering the guilty plea, Colbert admitted accompanying Sedillo and Lopez to the Bank of the West branches they planned to rob. Colbert further admitted that on July 14, 2016, he entered a Bank of the West branch while disguised with the intent to commit a robbery but left without obtaining any money. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Colbert will be sentenced within the range of 41 to 51 months in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

 

On March 28, 2017, Sedillo pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank robbery and to aiding and abetting an attempted bank robbery. In entering the guilty plea, Sedillo admitted driving Lopez and Colbert to the Bank of the West branches they planned to rob. Sedillo further admitted that on July 14, 2016, she drove her co-defendants away from a branch of Bank of the West branch that Colbert attempted to rob. She also admitted concealing the clothing Colbert wore during the attempted robbery. Under the terms of her plea agreement, Sedillo will be sentenced within the range of 27 to 33 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

 

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney and Ismael Nevarez Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Office of IRS Criminal Investigation announced the sentencing of the former president and owner of Sneakerz, Inc., a corporation that operated “Sneakerz Sports Bar” in Albuquerque, N.M., on a federal tax evasion charge. James E. Coleman, Jr., 59, was sentenced this afternoon in federal court to 18 month of imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release. Coleman was also ordered to pay $1,045,939 in restitution to the IRS.

 

Coleman was charged in Nov. 2014, in a four-count indictment with tax evasion and subscribing false tax returns charges. Counts 1 and 2 charged Coleman with evading a total of $166,320 in federal corporate taxes in calendar years 2008 and 2009 by filing false tax returns that underrepresented his corporation’s taxable income. Count 1 charged Coleman with evading $90,661 in federal taxes by falsely claiming that his corporation had $621,064 in taxable income in calendar year 2008 despite knowing that the corporation had $886,128 in taxable income for that year. Count 2 charged him with evading $75,659 in federal taxes by falsely claiming that his corporation had $731,581 in taxable income in calendar year 2009 despite knowing that the corporation had $932,235 in taxable income for that year. Counts 3 and 4 charged Coleman with filing individual tax returns for calendar years 2008 and 2009 that falsely reported that Coleman received no dividend income and no business income during those two calendar years.

 

On June 23, 2016, Coleman pled guilty to Count 1 of the indictment and admitted evading a total of $1,045,939 in federal corporate and personal taxes between calendar years 2002 and 2009. In his plea agreement, Coleman acknowledged underrepresenting Sneakerz’s gross receipts to the IRS with the intention of evading his corporate tax liability. He also admitted falsely underrepresenting the income he derived from Sneakerz on his personal tax returns.

 

The Albuquerque office of IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Peña.

ALBUQUERQUE – Fermin Artiaga, 36, of Perris, Calif., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a methamphetamine trafficking charge. The plea agreement includes a recommendation that Artiaga be sentenced to 114 months of imprisonment followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

 

Artiaga was arrested in Aug. 2015, and was charged by a criminal complaint with a methamphetamine trafficking offense after the DEA seized approximately 1.95 kilograms (4.29 pounds) of methamphetamine during an interdiction investigation at the Amtrak Train Station in Albuquerque. The methamphetamine was concealed in four bundles inside Artiaga’s suitcase. Artiaga was indicted on Sept. 10, 2015, and was charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

 

During today’s proceedings, Artiaga pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Artiaga admitted that on Aug. 22, 2015, he transported four bundles of methamphetamine weighing an aggregate of 1758 grams in a suitcase into New Mexico on an Amtrak train. Artiaga 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 is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Presiliano Torrez.

ALBUQUERQUE – This morning, Chief U.S. District Judge M. Christina Armijo sentenced Davon Lymon, 36, of Albuquerque, N.M., for his conviction in one of his two federal cases. Lymon was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on two felon in possession of firearms charges. Lymon will be sentenced on his conviction on two heroin trafficking charges and another felon in possession charge in his second federal case on April 24, 2017.

 

Lymon’s sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney, Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry of the Phoenix Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Special Agent in Charge Will R. Glaspy of the El Paso Division of the DEA, and Chief Gorden E. Eden Jr., of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD).

 

Lymon stands convicted in two federal cases. The first indictment in the first case, filed on Nov. 27, 2015, charged Lymon with four counts of being a felon in possession of firearms and one count of possessing a stolen firearm (the firearms case). The indictment in the second case, filed on Dec. 2, 2015, charged Lymon with two heroin trafficking charges and a felon in possession of a firearm charge (the heroin trafficking case). At the time Lymon committed the crimes, he was prohibited from possessing firearms because of his prior felony convictions for voluntary manslaughter, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon resulting in great bodily harm, fraud, and forgery.

 

Lymon was convicted on two of the four charges in the firearms case. Chief U.S. District Judge Armijo found Lymon guilty on Count 4 of the four-count indictment on Oct. 28, 2016, following a bench trial on that charge alone. Count 4 charged Lymon with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on Oct. 21, 2015, the day on which he allegedly shot Officer Daniel Webster of the APD. Officer Webster died on Oct. 29, 2015, due to injuries he allegedly sustained during the shooting, and Lymon has been charged with murdering Officer Webster in a separate state case. Lymon has yet to answer to the charges in the state case and is presumed innocent unless found guilty.

 

On Dec. 13, 2016, Lymon pled guilty to Count 2 of the indictment in the firearms case under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and admitted unlawfully possessing a firearm on May 27, 2016. As part of the plea agreement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office agreed to dismiss Count 1, charging Lymon with being a felon in possession of a firearm on May 27, 2015, and Count 3, of the indictment, charging Lymon with possessing a stolen firearm in May 2015.

 

The indictment in the second federal case charged Lymon with distributing heroin on Sept. 11, 2015 and Oct. 2, 2015, and unlawfully possessing a firearm on Oct. 2, 2015. Lymon pled guilty to the three charges in the heroin trafficking case on May 9, 2016, without the benefit of a plea agreement. Lymon will be sentenced on his conviction in the heroin trafficking case on April 24, 2017. He faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the two heroin trafficking charges and a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in prison on the firearms charge.

 

The Albuquerque office of ATF and APD investigated the firearms case, with assistance from the Albuquerque office of the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the New Mexico State Police, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, the Rio Rancho Police Department and the New Mexico Transportation Police Division. The heroin trafficking case was investigated by the Albuquerque offices of ATF and DEA.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob A. Wishard and Kimberly A. Brawley are prosecuting the two federal cases against Lymon 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 – Jessica Hofer, 26, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 48 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for her methamphetamine trafficking conviction. Hofer’s co-defendant, Cody Castillo, 31, previously was sentenced to 84 months of imprisonment on Jan. 20, 2017, based on his guilty plea to methamphetamine trafficking charges.

 

Hofer and Castillo were arrested during an ATF-led investigation that resulted in the filing of 59 federal indictments and one 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.

 

Hofer and Castillo were arrested in July 2016, on an indictment charging them with conspiracy and distribution of methamphetamine on June 2, 2016, in Bernalillo County, N.M. Hofer pled guilty on Dec. 2, 2016, to a felony information charging her with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and admitted that on June 2, 2016, she sold more than 50 grams of methamphetamine with a 99% purity level to an undercover agent.

 

To date, 32 of the 104 defendants have entered guilty pleas and five 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. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eva M. Fontanez prosecuted the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Christopher Craig, 26, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 60 months in prison for his conviction on a heroin trafficking charge. Craig will be on supervised release for four years after completing his prison sentence.

 

Craig was arrested in Feb. 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with possessing heroin with intent to distribute on Feb. 17, 2016, in Sandoval County, N.M. According to the complaint, Craig attempted to sell approximately 205.8 grams of heroin to law enforcement officers. At the time of his arrest, Craig was on supervised release for a 2010 conviction for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Craig was subsequently indicted on March 8, 2016, on a heroin trafficking charge.

 

On Sept. 8, 2016, Craig pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on Feb. 17, 2016, he arranged to sell a half pound of heroin in exchange for $5,000. Craig further admitted that when he was arrested, he was in possession of 205.8 grams of heroin, which he intended to sell.

 

This case was investigated the Albuquerque office of the FBI, the New Mexico State Police and the Rio Rancho Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Presiliano Torrez prosecuted 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 – William Colbert, 38, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty this morning in federal court to bank robbery charges. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Colbert will be sentenced within the range of 41 to 51 months in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

 

Colbert and co-defendants Abel Lopez, 31, and Joleen Sedillo, 42, both of Albuquerque, were arrested in July 2016, on a criminal complaint charging them with bank robbery offenses. According to the criminal complaint, Sedillo, Lopez and Colbert robbed Bank of the West branches located at 5401 Central Ave. NE and 7900 Wyoming Blvd. NE on June 22, 2016 and June 27, 2016, respectively, and attempted to rob the Bank of the West branch located at 5228 Central Ave. SW on July 14, 2016.

 

Sedillo, Lopez and Colbert were indicted on Aug. 10, 2016, and charged with conspiracy to commit bank robbery in June and July 2016; bank robbery on June 22, 2016 and June 27, 2016; and attempted bank robbery on July 14, 2016. According to the indictment, the three defendants committed the crimes in Bernalillo County, N.M.

 

During this morning’s proceedings, Colbert pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank robbery and to aiding and abetting an attempted bank robbery. In entering the guilty plea, Colbert admitted accompanying Sedillo and Lopez to the Bank of the West branches they planned to rob. Colbert further admitted that on July 14, 2016, he entered a Bank of the West branch while disguised with the intent to commit a robbery but left without obtaining any money.

 

On March 28, 2017, Sedillo pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank robbery and to aiding and abetting an attempted bank robbery. In entering the guilty plea, Sedillo admitted driving Lopez and Colbert to the Bank of the West branches they planned to rob. Sedillo further admitted that on July 14, 2016, she drove her co-defendants away from a branch of Bank of the West branch that Colbert attempted to rob. She also admitted concealing the clothing Colbert wore during the attempted robbery. Under the terms of her plea agreement, Sedillo will be sentenced within the range of 27 to 33 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

 

Lopez has entered a plea of not guilty to the charges against him. Lopez remains in custody pending trial, which has yet to be scheduled. Charges in indictments and criminal complaints 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 the FBI and the Albuquerque Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Murphy is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Marlee Joy Pinto, 20, an enrolled member of the Zuni Pueblo who resides in Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Santa Fe, N.M., for her child abuse conviction. Pinto will be on probation for three years during which time she will be required to comply with special conditions which require that she complete an in-patient alcohol rehabilitation program and parenting classes.

 

Pinto was arrested in July 2016, on an indictment charging her with engaging in child abuse by operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol on March 14, 2016, in Indian Country in Cibola County, N.M.

 

Pinto pled guilty to the indictment on June 30, 2016, without the benefit of a plea agreement.

 

This case was investigated by the Laguna/Acoma Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services with assistance from the Acoma Pueblo Tribal Police Department and the New Mexico State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Murphy prosecuted the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney and Special Agent in Charge Waldemar Rodriguez of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, Texas, announced that Jim Walter Qualls Jr., 30, of Roswell, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 200 years of imprisonment for his conviction on production of child pornography charges. Qualls’ sentence was enhanced based on his prior state court conviction for enticement of a minor.

 

“This previously convicted child sex offender sexually exploited a three-year-old child, who was in his care, for the purpose of producing child pornography. As a result of the sentence imposed today, he will never again exploit another child,” said Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney. “This sentence should send a forceful message that law enforcement in New Mexico is committed to the protection of our children and will vigorously investigate and prosecute predators who exploit and abuse them.”

 

“Today’s sentence ensures that this predator will never have access to the most innocent among us – our children,” said Waldemar Rodriguez, Special Agent in Charge of HSI El Paso. “This lengthy sentence is appropriate for a person who has proven his propensity to target children, and will ensure the defendant never harms a child again or sees the outside of a jail cell.”
 

Qualls was arrested on child pornography charges on July 31, 2014, based on a criminal complaint charging him with possession, receipt and distribution of child pornography, and enticement of a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography. According to the criminal complaint, Qualls committed the crimes between Oct. 2013 and Feb. 2014, in Chaves County, N.M.

 

Court records reflect that HSI agents from Las Cruces, N.M., executed a search warrant at Qualls’ residence after investigation identified the residence as one associated with an IP Address that was being used to upload child pornography to the internet. During the search, HSI agents confiscated Qualls’ cell phone, which contained visual depictions of minors engaged in sexual activity.

 

Qualls was indicted on Oct. 16, 2014, and was charged with four counts of enticing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography. On May 7, 2015, Qualls pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement.

 

Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney commended HSI and the Roswell Police Department for their work in the investigation, and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander B. Shapiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office who prosecuted the case.

 

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

 

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Christopher Andres Aguirre, 36, of Deming, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 110 months in prison for violating the federal firearms laws. Aguirre will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.

 

Aguirre was arrested in April 2013, on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. According to the complaint, on March 5, 2013, Las Cruces Police Department (LCPD) officers encountered Aguirre inside a Walmart in Las Cruces, where Aguirre was attempting to purchase ammunition. At the time, Aguirre was also in possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number and ammunition.

 

Aguirre was subsequently indicted on the same charges on July 17, 2013. Aguirre was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his prior felony convictions for retaliation against a federal official, escape of a prisoner from a correctional institution, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

 

On Nov. 6, 2013, Aguirre pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on March 5, 2013, in Doña Ana County, N.M., he possessed a pistol with an obliterated serial number.

 

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the LCPD. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office prosecuted this 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 – Phillip Larry Gonzales, 29, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 36 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his heroin trafficking conviction. In addition, Gonzales was sentenced to a year and a day of imprisonment for violating his supervised release on an earlier conviction, to be served consecutive to the three-year sentence for a total sentence of 48 months of imprisonment.

 

Gonzales was arrested during 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.

 

Gonzales was arrested on Aug. 10, 2016, on an indictment charging him with distributing heroin on July 27, 2016, in Bernalillo County, N.M. On Dec. 5, 2016, Gonzales pled guilty to the indictment, and admitted that on July 27, 2016, he sold 26.7 grams of heroin to an undercover law enforcement agent.

 

To date, 32 of the 104 defendants have entered guilty pleas, and four defendants 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 the ATF and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rumaldo R. Armijo 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 – Adrian Tom, 38, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Church Rock, N.M., pled guilty earlier this week in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to an abusive sexual contact charge. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Tom will be sentenced within the range of 37 to 63 months in prison followed by not less than five years of supervised release. Tom will also be required to register as a sex offender when he completes his prison sentence.

 

On March 29, 2017, Tom pled guilty to a felony information charging him with abusive sexual contact with a child under the age of 12 years on the Navajo Indian Reservation in McKinley County, N.M. In entering his guilty plea, Tom admitted that in March 2010, he engaged in sexual contact with an eight-year-old Indian child while on the Navajo Indian Reservation. Tom remains in federal custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Gallup office of the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Mease 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 – Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney and Ismael Nevarez Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Office of IRS Criminal Investigation announced that a federal jury sitting in Albuquerque, N.M., returned a verdict yesterday afternoon finding Darryl J. Gutierrez of Santa Fe, N.M., guilty of violating the federal tax laws. Gutierrez, 61, was found guilty of obstructing and impeding the administration of the internal revenue laws and filing false tax returns.

 

Gutierrez was indicted on Nov. 5, 2015, and charged with one count of obstructing and impeding the due administration of the internal revenue laws and ten counts of making and subscribing false tax returns.

 

The trial of Gutierrez on the eleven-count indictment began on March 27, 2017, and concluded yesterday afternoon when the jury returned a guilty verdict on all eleven counts of the indictment. During the trial, the jury learned that Gutierrez was an electrical engineer who worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory for almost 30 years, earning an annual salary ranging from $80,000.00 to $115,000.00 in tax years 2000 to 2009. The evidence at trial also established that Gutierrez, after years of regularly filing timely income tax returns with the IRS, stopped complying with the federal tax laws and began engaging in a pattern of obstructive conduct to prevent the IRS from assessing and collecting his taxes.

 

The evidence at trial showed that Gutierrez’s obstructive tactics included sending frivolous correspondence to the IRS, and, submitting, under penalty of perjury, false tax information to his employer and to the IRS. For instance, the evidence showed that Gutierrez submitted, under penalty of perjury, false withholdings information (Forms W-4) to his employer and false statements of his wages on his personal income tax returns (Forms 1040) filed with the IRS. The evidence further showed that between Nov. 2010 and Jan. 2011, Gutierrez filed ten false federal income tax returns for tax years 2000 to 2009 seeking a refund when in fact Gutierrez owed the IRS approximately $125,000.

 

“Our tax system depends on each one of us truthfully reporting our income to the IRS. Anybody can make an honest mistake, but deliberate lies on an income tax return are a crime. As we go into tax filing season, honest taxpayers should take some comfort in knowing that everybody has to follow the same rules, and that those who don’t are facing criminal prosecution and imprisonment,” said Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney. “Taxpayers should also know that the IRS makes every effort to work with taxpayers who are trying in good faith to meet their tax obligations.”

“This verdict should send a clear message that citizens have a duty to comply with the tax laws in our country,” said IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Ismael Nevarez, Jr. “I also hope it deters others who might consider relying on frivolous anti-tax arguments.”

Gutierrez faces a statutory maximum penalty of three years of imprisonment on each of the eleven charges on which he was convicted. Gutierrez was ordered to post a $200,000 bond pending sentencing. A sentencing date has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of IRS Criminal Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Margaret Vierbuchen and Holland S. Kastrin.

ALBUQUERQUE – Charles Nunez, 47, of Roswell, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 120 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction. Nunez also was ordered to forfeit $70,000 in drug proceeds and five firearms to the United States.

 

Nunez was arrested on March 12, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute, carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm in Chaves County, N.M. According to the complaint, on March 12, 2016, the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force executed search warrants on Nunez, his residence and his vehicle, and seized approximately five pounds of methamphetamine, firearms, a large amount of cash, drug paraphernalia, and a police radio scanner.

 

On Oct. 17, 2016, Nunez pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Nunez admitted that on March 12, 2016, agents seized five pounds of methamphetamine and several firearms from his residence.

 

This case was investigated by the Roswell office of the FBI and the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Ong of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office prosecuted the case.

 

The HIDTA Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of investigators from the Roswell Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and the Chaves County Sherriff’s Office. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.

ALBUQUERQUE – Thomas J. Yazzie, Jr., 52, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation from Farmington, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to an involuntary manslaughter charge.

 

Yazzie was arrested on Feb. 7, 2017, on an indictment charging him with involuntary manslaughter. According to the indictment, Yazzie killed the victim with his vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol on the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M., on May 10, 2016.

 

During today’s proceedings, Yazzie pled guilty to the indictment and admitted killing the victim by driving recklessly while under the influence of alcohol. Yazzie acknowledged that the alcohol rendered him incapable of exercising clear judgment and a steady hand in operating the vehicle.

 

At sentencing, Yazzie faces a maximum penalty of eight years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Gallup office of the FBI, the Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and the New Mexico State Police and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Murphy.

ALBUQUERQUE – Glen Joel Lester, 39, a member of the Mescalero Apache Nation who resides in Mescalero, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction.

 

Lester was one of 34 individuals charged in Dec. 2015 with federal and tribal drug offenses as the result of an 18-month multi-agency investigation led by the DEA and BIA into methamphetamine trafficking on the Mescalero Apache Reservation. Eighteen defendants, including five members of the Mescalero Apache Tribe and 13 non-Natives were charged in six federal indictments and a federal criminal complaint. Sixteen other members of the Mescalero Apache Tribe were charged in tribal criminal complaints approved by the Mescalero Apache Tribal Court.

 

The investigation leading to the federal and tribal charges was initiated in May 2014, in response to an increase in violent crime on the Mescalero Apache Reservation perpetrated by methamphetamine users. The investigation initially targeted a drug trafficking organization that was allegedly distributing methamphetamine within the Reservation, and later expanded to include two other drug trafficking organizations in southeastern New Mexico that allegedly served as sources of supply for the methamphetamine distributed within the Reservation. In Aug. 2014, the investigation 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, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations. The investigation is one of the first OCDETF investigations to utilize electronic surveillance (wiretaps) in Indian Country. More than ten kilograms of methamphetamine were seized during the course of the investigation.

 

Lester was arrested on Dec. 15, 2015, on an indictment charging him with two counts of methamphetamine distribution. On March 11, 2016, Lester pled guilty to both counts of the indictment and admitting selling methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement agent on two occasions. The first drug sale took place on Aug. 19, 2015, in Mescalero, and involved the sale of $500 worth of methamphetamine. The second drug sale took place in Mescalero on Sept. 10, 2015, and involved the sale of $1,500 worth of methamphetamine.

 

Seventeen of the 18 federal defendants have entered guilty pleas. The remaining federal defendant has entered a not guilty plea. Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

 

The federal and tribal cases were investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA, District IV of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services (Mescalero Agency), BIA’s Division of Drug Enforcement, Mescalero Tribal Police Department, Hatch Police Department, FBI and 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 federal cases, and Mescalero Tribal Prosecutor Melissa Chavez is prosecuting the tribal cases.

ALBUQUERQUE – Veronica Valenzuela, 41, of Columbus, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 156 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for her methamphetamine trafficking conviction.

 

Valenzuela was arrested in Feb. 2015, on a criminal complaint alleging conspiracy and methamphetamine trafficking charges. The criminal complaint charged Valenzuela and others with committing the crimes between Oct. 9, 2014 and Dec. 12, 2014 in Luna County, N.M. According to the criminal complaint, Valenzuela and other individuals sold quantities of methamphetamine to undercover Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents on the following dates: 27 grams on Oct. 9, 2014; 27.5 grams on Oct. 17, 2014; and 104.89 grams on Nov. 4, 2014.

 

On April 24, 2016, Valenzuela pled guilty to a felony information charging her with participation in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy. In entering the guilty plea, Valenzuela admitted that on Nov. 4, 2014, she conspired with others to distribute 104.89 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement agent. Valenzuela further admitted that on Dec. 11, 2014, she conspired with others to distribute 231.05 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement agent.

 

This case was investigated by the Deming office of HSI and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Luis A. Martinez of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

ALBUQUERQUE – Kyla Lashawn Norby, 28, of Hobbs, N.M., was sentenced late yesterday afternoon in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 15 years in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release for her conviction on a production of child pornography charge. Norby will be required to register as a sex offender when she completes her prison sentence. Norby also was ordered to pay $210,012.00 in restitution to the victim of her criminal conduct.

 

Norby’s sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney, Special Agent in Charge Waldemar Rodriguez of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, and Lea County Undersheriff Tom Dunford.

 

Norby was arrested on Jan. 8, 2016, on a criminal complaint alleging that she produced and distributed child pornography between May 2015 and Dec. 2015, in Lea County, N.M. According to the criminal complaint, the investigation into Norby was initiated after Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents from Laredo, Tex., arrested a man in Odessa, Tex., who revealed that Norby made a two-year old child sexually available to him. A search of the man’s smartphone revealed photos of Norby, including images consistent with child pornography, that Norby sent to the man from her smartphone.

 

On June 22, 2016, Norby pled guilty to a felony information charging her with production of child pornography. In her plea agreement, Norby admitted that on Oct. 25, 2015, she used a smartphone to take a sexually explicit photograph of a toddler with the intention of sharing the photograph with an individual in Texas.

 

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of HSI and the Lea Country Sheriff’s Office, both members of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, with assistance from HSI in Laredo, Texas. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Ong of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

 

This case is being prosecuted 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 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 New Mexico ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the Office of the New Mexico Attorney General. Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.

ALBUQUERQUE – Jose Angel Sanchez, 35, of Las Cruces, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to a methamphetamine trafficking charge. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Sanchez will be sentenced to ten years in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

 

Sanchez was arrested on Dec. 2, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with possessing approximately 229.5 grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute in Dona Ana County, N.M. According to the complaint, Sanchez committed the crime while on supervised release from a prior federal drug trafficking conviction.

 

During today’s proceedings, Sanchez pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Sanchez admitted that on Dec. 2, 2016, he possessed more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, which he intended to sell to other people. Sanchez also admitted that he was on supervised release from a prior conviction when he committed the offense on Dec. 2, 2016, and that he was prohibited from committing crimes as a condition of his supervised release.

 

Sanchez remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah M. Davenport of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

ALBUQUERQUE – Audriana Veneno, 23, an enrolled member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation who resides in Dulce, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a child abuse charge.

 

Veneno was arrested in March 2015, on an indictment charging her with assaulting the victim, a child under the age of 16 years. The indictment alleged that Veneno committed the crime on Nov. 6, 2014, on the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation in Rio Arriba County, N.M.

 

During today’s proceedings, Veneno pled guilty to an information charging her with child abuse. In entering the guilty plea, Veneno admitted that on Nov. 6, 2014, she intentionally and negligently permitted the victim, who was under the age of 18 years, to be placed in a situation that endangered the victim’s life or health.

 

At sentencing, Veneno faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Jicarilla Apache Tribal Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Raquel Ruiz-Velez is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney, Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division, and New Mexico State Police Chief Pete N. Kassetas announced that Joshua Adam Williams, 21, of Lakeside, Calif., was sentenced late yesterday afternoon in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M. Williams will serve 120 months in federal prison followed by 15 years of supervised release for his conviction on a possession of child pornography charge. Williams will be required to register as a sex offender after completing his prison sentence. He was also ordered to pay $210,010.00 in restitution to one of the victims of his criminal conduct.

 

Williams was arrested on Nov. 4, 2015, in Lakeside, Calif., on a criminal complaint alleging child pornography charges that was filed on Oct. 27, 2015, in federal court in Las Cruces. He was transferred from California to Las Cruces on Dec. 11, 2015, to face the charges against him.

 

The criminal complaint charged Williams with distribution, possession and attempted production of videos and images depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. It alleged that Williams committed these crimes in May 2015 in Roswell, N.M., when he was enrolled as a cadet at the New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI).

 

Court filings reveal that the investigation into Williams began in Aug. 2014, when a father and minor child disclosed to the FBI that the child had been self-producing child pornography and sharing it with others through an internet chat room. The father surrendered the child’s cellular phone to the FBI and the FBI found it to contain alleged child pornography that had been shared with a specific account identified by a particular username. After investigation revealed that Williams, who was then a NMMI cadet, was the subscriber to the account, search warrants were obtained for Williams’ computers, cellphone and other digital media. Forensic examinations of Williams’ computer and cellphone revealed that they contained videos and images consistent with child pornography.

 

On April 20, 2016, Williams pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of child pornography. In his plea agreement, Williams admitted that on May 5, 2015, he possessed a computer and cellular telephone that contained videos and images of child pornography. The plea agreement states that Williams’ computer contained a video of a toddler being sexually molested by an adult and his cellular phone contained approximately 100 videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

 

This case was investigated by the Roswell office of the FBI, New Mexico State Police, New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the New Mexico Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory with assistance from the FBI in San Diego, Calif., and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Ong of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office 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 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 82 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the New Mexico 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 – JoAnn Bell, 36, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to a theft of mail charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

 

Bell was arrested on Sept. 19, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging her with theft of mail. The complaint alleged that Bell repeatedly stole mail from U.S. Postal Service (USPS) mail collection boxes located outside of U.S. Post Offices in Albuquerque by using a “fishing” device she fed into the mailbox to “fish” mail out. Bell was arrested after law enforcement officers found her asleep with the “fishing” device and stolen mail in her lap in a vehicle parked outside of a U.S. Post Office.

 

Bell was indicted on Oct. 12, 2016, and was charged with stealing and receiving stolen mail on Sept. 18, 2016 in Bernalillo County, N.M. During today’s change of plea hearing, Bell pled guilty to the indictment and admitted using a “fishing” device to pull mail out of USPS collection boxes on Sept. 17 and 18, 2016.

 

At sentencing, Bell faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Jon Ganjei.

ALBUQUERQUE – Reydecel Lopez-Ordonez, 23, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 60 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for his conviction on heroin trafficking charges. Lopez-Ordonez also was ordered to forfeit $10,752 in drug proceeds to the United States in addition to forfeiting his ownership interest in a residence in southwest Albuquerque.

 

Lopez-Ordonez and co-defendants Gonzalo Montenegro-Coronel, 31, a Mexican national, Esther Ordonez, 48, and Miguel Ordonez, 23, both of Albuquerque, and Fernando Gomez-Campos, 21, of El Paso, Texas were charged in a 13-count indictment that was filed on Dec. 2, 2015. The indictment charged the defendants with participating in a heroin trafficking conspiracy between Nov. 2014 and Sept. 2015. The indictment also charged the defendants with distributing heroin on eight occasions between Nov. 2014 and Sept. 2015, and with using telephones to facilitate drug trafficking crimes. It also charged Esther Ordonez, Miguel Ordonez and Montenegro-Coronel with maintaining a residence for the purpose of manufacturing and distributing heroin between Nov. 2014 and Sept. 2015. According to the indictment, the defendants committed the crimes in Bernalillo County, N.M.

 

Lopez-Ordonez pled guilty on Oct. 19, 2016, to one count of distributing heroin and two counts of using a communication device to further the commission of a drug trafficking crime. In entering the guilty plea, Lopez-Ordonez admitted using a telephone on March 19, 2015 and June 10, 2015, to arrange heroin sales. Lopez-Ordonez also admitted selling 568 grams of heroin to an undercover agent in exchange for $26,000 on July 9 and 10, 2015.

 

On March 10, 2017, Gomez-Campos pled guilty to Count 1 of the indictment charging him with participating in a heroin trafficking conspiracy. In his plea agreement, Gomez-Campos admitted that on Oct. 13, 2015, law enforcement officers found approximately 2.67 kilograms (5.89 pounds) of heroin in the trunk of the vehicle in which Gomez-Campos was a passenger. Gomez-Campos admitted that he intended to deliver the heroin from El Paso to Albuquerque. Gomez-Campos also admitted that on April 28, 2015, he was paid to drive a similar quantity of heroin from Juarez, Mexico, to El Paso and then onto Albuquerque. At sentencing, Gomez-Campos 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.

 

The three remaining co-defendants have entered not guilty pleas to the indictment and are pending trial. 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 the DEA and the HIDTA Region I Drug Task Force as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program, which combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations. The HIDTA Region I Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Albuquerque Police Department, Rio Rancho Police Department, Valencia County Sheriff’s Office, Pueblo of Pojoaque Tribal Police Department and DEA. 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.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shaheen P. Torgoley and Stephen R. Kotz are prosecuting this 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 – Carlos Tafoya, Jr., 35, of Socorro, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 13 years in prison for his conviction on methamphetamine trafficking charges. Tafoya will be on supervised release for five years after completing his prison sentence.

 

Tafoya was one of 34 individuals charged in December 2015, with federal and tribal drug offenses as the result of an 18-month multi-agency investigation led by the DEA and BIA into methamphetamine trafficking on the Mescalero Apache Reservation. Eighteen defendants, including five members of the Mescalero Apache Tribe and 13 non-Natives were charged in six federal indictments and a federal criminal complaint. Sixteen other members of the Mescalero Apache Tribe were charged in tribal criminal complaints approved by the Mescalero Apache Tribal Court.

 

The investigation leading to the federal and tribal charges was initiated in May 2014, in response to an increase in violent crime on the Mescalero Apache Reservation perpetrated by methamphetamine users. The investigation initially targeted a drug trafficking organization that was allegedly distributing methamphetamine within the Reservation, and later expanded to include two other drug trafficking organizations in southeastern New Mexico that allegedly served as sources of supply for the methamphetamine distributed within the Reservation. In Aug. 2014, the investigation 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, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations. The investigation is one of the first OCDETF investigations to utilize electronic surveillance (wiretaps) in Indian Country. More than ten kilograms of methamphetamine were seized during the course of the investigation.

 

Tafoya was arrested on Nov. 20, 2015, on an indictment charging him and seven other non-Natives with methamphetamine trafficking and money laundering offenses. The indictment charged Tafoya with participation in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

 

The indictment against Tafoya was superseded on Sept. 21, 2016, and charged Tafoya with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine from July 1, 2015 through Nov. 13, 2015; distribution of methamphetamine on Oct. 15, 2015; possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Nov. 13, 2015; and possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime on Nov. 13, 2015. According to the superseding indictment, all offenses took place in Socorro County, N.M. The superseding indictment also included forfeiture provisions requiring Tafoya to forfeit $24,500 to the United States.

 

On Nov. 17, 2016, Tafoya pled guilty to distribution of methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine. In entering the guilty plea, Tafoya admitted that on Oct. 15, 2016, he sold 364.2 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement agent and on Nov. 13, 2015, he possessed approximately 1.2 kilograms of methamphetamine which he intended to sell. Tafoya further admitted that he was on supervised release for a prior conviction when he committed the methamphetamine trafficking offenses on Oct. 15, 2015 and Nov. 13, 2015.

 

Seventeen of the 18 federal defendants have entered guilty pleas. The remaining federal defendant has entered a not guilty plea. Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

 

The federal and tribal cases were investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA, District IV of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services (Mescalero Agency), BIA’s Division of Drug Enforcement, Mescalero Tribal Police Department, Hatch Police Department, FBI and Lea County Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Terri J. Abernathy and Clara Cobos of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office are prosecuting the federal cases, and Mescalero Tribal Prosecutor Melissa Chavez is prosecuting the tribal cases.

ALBUQUERQUE – Crystal Medina Gomez, 50, of Silver City, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 30 months of imprisonment for her methamphetamine trafficking conviction. Gomez will be on supervised release for three years after completing her prison sentence.

 

Gomez was one of twelve defendants charged with methamphetamine trafficking offenses as the result of a multi-agency investigation targeting a drug trafficking organization led by Daniel Lee Jacquez, 35, of Silver City, that distributed methamphetamine in Grant County, N.M. The investigation concluded in April 2015 with the filing of a 34-count indictment against Gomez, Jacquez and ten co-defendants.

 

The indictment charged the 12 defendants with participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy and committing a series of substantive drug trafficking offenses and a firearms offense. According to the indictment, the defendants conspired to distribute methamphetamine in Grant County from March 2014 through April 2015. Eight counts charged certain defendants with distributing or possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and 24 counts charge certain defendants with using communications devices (telephones) to facilitate drug trafficking crimes. The indictment also charged one defendant with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

 

On Aug. 3, 2016, Gomez pled guilty to participating in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy, and admitted that from March 2014 through April 2015, she was responsible for distributing between 500 grams and 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine in the Silver City area.

 

All of Gomez’s co-defendants, including Jacquez, have entered guilty pleas. Anthony R. Davila, 26, of Santa Clara, N.M., was sentenced on Feb. 21, 2017, to 60 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. The remaining co-defendants are currently awaiting sentencing hearings.

 

The case was investigated by the Las Cruces offices of the DEA, HSI and FBI with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service and the New Mexico State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard C. Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting this case.

 

The investigation leading to the filing of charges in this case 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.

ALBUQUERQUE – Carlos Matta Heredia, 32, of Phoenix, Ariz., was sentenced today in Las Cruces, N.M., to 63 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his federal methamphetamine trafficking conviction.

 

Heredia was arrested in May 2016, on a criminal complaint after law enforcement officers located approximately 2,721.7 grams (six pounds) of methamphetamine in Heredia’s vehicle during a routine traffic stop. According to the complaint, the offense took place on May 26, 2016, on Interstate 10 in Luna County, N.M.

 

On Sept. 13, 2016, Heredia pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Heredia admitted that on May 26, 2016, law enforcement officers recovered six pounds of methamphetamine from his vehicle during a traffic stop. Heredia further admitted that he was transporting the drugs with the intention of delivering them to another person.

 

This case was investigated by the HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah M. Davenport of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces branch office.

 

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.

ALBUQUERQUE – Jose Martinez-Encinias, 44, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to drug trafficking and firearms charges. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Martinez-Encinias will be sentenced to 135 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court. The guilty plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney and Special Agent in Charge Will R. Glaspy of the DEA’s El Paso Division.

 

Martinez-Encinias is one of 14 defendants charged with drug trafficking and firearms offenses as the result of an 18-month investigation by DEA and the HIDTA Region I Narcotics Task Force into a drug trafficking organization allegedly led by David Reynolds, 34, of Albuquerque, N.M., that distributed large quantities of heroin in Bernalillo and Santa Fe Counties, N.M. The investigation was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (“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.

 

Martinez-Encinias was arrested in June 2013, on a criminal complaint charging him with possessing heroin and cocaine with intent to distribute and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The criminal complaint charged Martinez-Encinias with committing the crimes on June 4, 2013, in Bernalillo County, N.M. Martinez-Encinias was indicted on the same charges on June 26, 2013.

 

The indictment was superseded on Dec. 4, 2013, to add 13 co-defendants, including Reynolds, and additional charges. The 15-count superseding indictment charged the defendants with conspiring to distribute heroin in Bernalillo and Santa Fe Counties from Sept. 2012 through Dec. 2013. It also charged Gene Solis, 22, with distributing heroin on three occasions in fall 2012; Humberto Hernandez, Jr., 40, with distributing methamphetamine on seven occasions between Feb. and Aug. 2013; and Martinez-Encinias with possessing heroin and cocaine with intent to distribute in June 2013, and with possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Reynolds also was charged with money laundering. The superseding indictment included forfeiture provisions seeking a money judgment of at least $1.3 million and property and assets obtained directly or indirectly from the commission of the crimes alleged in the indictment. A second superseding indictment that added additional charges was filed on June 30, 2016.

 

During today’s proceedings, Martinez-Encinias pled guilty to possessing cocaine and heroin with intent to distribute and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. In entering the guilty plea, Martinez-Encinias admitted that on June 14, 2013, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at his residence and recovered approximately 2,032.8 grams of heroin, 1,090.6 grams of cocaine, numerous firearms and over $19,000 in cash. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

 

Six of Martinez-Encinias’ co-defendants previously entered guilty pleas and three have been sentenced. Teddy Archuleta, 35, of Albuquerque, pled guilty on Oct. 15, 2015, and was sentenced on Oct. 6, 2016, to time served followed by five years of supervised release. Miguel Baca, 41, of Albuquerque, pled guilty on June 6, 2016, and was sentenced on Nov. 15, 2016, to 37 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release. Daniel Jiron, 42, of Albuquerque, pled guilty on July 15, 2016, and was sentenced on Nov. 15, 2016, to 72 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Zebulun Smith, 35, of Albuquerque, pled guilty on Dec. 19, 2016, Hernandez pled guilty on Jan. 4, 2017, and Christopher Ortega, 44, of Albuquerque, pled guilty on Jan. 18, 2017. Smith, Hernandez and Ortega remain in custody pending sentencing hearings.

 

The remaining eight defendants have entered pleas of not guilty. If convicted on the drug trafficking charges in the superseding indictment, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of a mandatory minimum ten years to a maximum of life in prison. Reynolds faces up to ten years in prison if convicted on the money laundering charge. Charges in indictments and criminal complaints are only accusations. All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and the HIDTA Region I Narcotics Task Force, with assistance from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy S. Vasquez and Joel R. Meyers 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.

 

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

ALBUQUERQUE – This morning a U.S. Magistrate Judge sitting in Albuquerque, N.M., found probable cause to support a criminal complaint charging Paul Salas, 46, of Albuquerque, with violating the Hobbs Act by robbing the Verizon store located at 8060 Academy Rd NE in Albuquerque. The Magistrate Judge also entered an order requiring Salas to remain in custody pending trial based on findings that Salas poses a risk of flight and danger to the community.

 

Salas was arrested on March 28, 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with violating the Hobbs Act on March 16, 2017, in Bernalillo County, N.M. According to the complaint, Salas allegedly brandished a firearm as he entered the Verizon store located at 8060 Academy Rd NE in Albuquerque and demanded money from the store’s safe. The complaint further alleges that Salas ordered a store employee to empty a cash register and the store safe, which contained approximately 22 new cellphones into Salas’ bag. Salas fled the store and was apprehended a short time later.

 

If convicted of the Hobbs Act robbery charge, Salas faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. 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 the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Albuquerque Police Department, with assistance from the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul H. Spiers is prosecuting the case 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.