District of New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE – Steve Casaus, 44, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today to ten years in federal prison for his conviction on a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition charge.  Casaus will serve his federal sentence consecutive to the 39-year state prison sentence Casaus already is serving for his convictions on state child abuse and drug trafficking charges.

The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, 2nd Judicial District Attorney Kari E. Brandenburg, Special Agent in Charge Waldemar Rodriguez of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, Texas, and Chief Gorden Eden, Jr., of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD).

U.S. Attorney Martinez said that Casaus’ federal prosecution was pursued under the federal “worst of the worst” anti-violence initiative.  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 felony convictions for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.  According to court records, Casaus has been committing crimes since he was 19, and his convictions include DUI, disarming an officer, aggravated assault on a peace officer, receiving stolen property, credit card fraud, cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking, receiving stolen property, and worthless checks.  His convictions also include the child abuse conviction arising out of the death of nine-year-old Omaree Varela for which Casaus received a 30-year state sentence and the consecutive nine-year sentence on a drug trafficking conviction .

Casaus was charged in a criminal complaint on April 25, 2014, with unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition on April 21, 2014, in Bernalillo County, N.M.  Casaus was arrested after APD officers after they observed what they believed to be a drug deal, and based on an outstanding arrest warrant for failing to appear on a pending state court case.  At the time of his arrest, Casaus was in possession of $20,790.00 in cash, 1.3 grams of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and a firearm loaded with six rounds of ammunition. 

Casaus was indicted on June 11, 2014, and charged with being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition on April 21, 2014, in Bernalillo County.  Casaus was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his status as a convicted felon.

 The federal prosecution of Casaus was stayed during the pendency of state court proceedings.  Casaus was arrested on the federal charge in Jan. 2016, after he was transferred into federal custody from state custody.

On Feb. 24, 2016, Casaus pled guilty to the federal indictment.  The guilty plea was entered without the benefit of a plea agreement.

The case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of Homeland Security Investigations and APD, with assistance from the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Walsh prosecuted the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Fidel Naranjo, 27, of Santa Fe, N.M., and Kendra Brophy, 29, of San Pedro, N.M., were sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., for convictions arising out of the Dec. 2, 2015 robbery of a bank in Espanola, N.M.  Naranjo was sentenced to a 40-month term of incarceration followed by three years of supervised release, and Brophy was sentenced to a year of probation to be served under home confinement with electronic monitoring followed by five years of supervised release.  Brophy also was ordered to perform 300 hours community service and complete a 90-day inpatient substance abuse treatment program.

Naranjo and Brophy were arrested in Dec. 2015, on criminal complaints charging them with robbing the New Mexico Bank and Trust branch located at 411 Carr Lane in Espanola, N.M. on Dec. 2, 2015.  According to the complaint, Naranjo robbed the bank by approaching a bank teller, threatening to shoot her, and demanding money.  Naranjo left the bank and was driven away from the scene by Brophy. 

Naranjo and Brophy were subsequently indicted on Dec. 17, 2015, and charged with bank robbery.

In April 25, 2016, Naranjo pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on Dec. 2, 2015, he robbed the New Mexico Bank and Trust in Espanola, by entering the bank and demanding money from the teller. 

Brophy pled guilty to a felony information charging her with misprision of a felony on April 21, 2016.  In entering her guilty plea, Brophy admitted that on Dec. 2, 2015, her codefendant Naranjo robbed a bank while she waited nearby.  Brophy admitted concealing the identity of the bank robber and the cash he obtained during the robbery, and failing to notify the authorities about her codefendant and the robbery.

 This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Han. 

ALBUQUERQUE – Miranda Rentz, 41,  an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Red Valley, Ariz., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., for her conviction on involuntary manslaughter and assault charges.  Rentz will serve an 84-month prison sentence followed by three years of supervised release.

Rentz was arrested in Jan. 2015, on a criminal complaint charging her with involuntary manslaughter and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  According to the complaint, Rentz killed one victim and seriously injured another when she crashed her vehicle head-on into the victims’ vehicle.  At the time of the crash, Rentz while driving under the influence of alcohol. Court documents indicate that the assault victim suffered fractures to her right collarbone, ribs, upper chest wall and right wrist, had brain bleeding and a bruised left lung.  The crash occurred on Jan. 17, 2015, in a location within the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M.  Rentz was subsequently indicted on the same charges on Feb. 25, 2015.

On Jan. 20, 2016, Rentz 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.  Rentz acknowledged that the alcohol rendered her incapable of exercising clear judgment and a steady hand in operating the vehicle.  Rentz admitted that she operated the vehicle without using due caution and with a reckless disregard that imperiled the lives of others.

This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback.

ALBUQUERQUE – Justin Brouillette, 22, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court for his conviction on carjacking and firearms charges, announced U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry of the Phoenix Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Chief Gorden Eden, Jr., of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD).  Brouillette will serve 132 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Martinez said, “Although Brouillette was not a violent, repeat offender and therefore not a typical candidate for federal prosecution under our ‘worst of the worst’ anti-violence initiative, everything changed when he discharged his weapon at officers on July 8, 2015.  Our message in prosecuting Brouillette in the federal system is very simple:  violence against law enforcement officers will not be tolerated.”

“Today’s sentencing of Justin Brouillette, serves as a harsh reminder that the criminal use of firearms will not be tolerated,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Atteberry.  “ATF, along with our law enforcement partners, stands resolute in its commitment to put these trigger pullers behind bars.”

Chief Eden of the APD added, “The effectiveness of our partnership cannot be challenged.  Dangerous criminals, especially those who attack our police officers will continue to face the federal criminal justice system.  APD is grateful to our federal law enforcement agencies for their dedication and service to keeping our officers and our community safe from dangerous criminals.”

Brouillette was arrested in July 2015, on a criminal complaint after Brouillette used a firearm on July 8, 2015, to shoot at APD officers as they attempted to execute a traffic stop on him as he was driving in southeast Albuquerque.  Shortly thereafter Brouillette crashed his vehicle into a Ford, and then attempted to carjack the Ford by brandishing a firearm at the Ford’s owner and ordering him out of the car.  While Brouillette was attempting to carjack the Ford, APD officers drove into the area and Brouillette fled on foot after discharging the firearm at the officers for a second time. 

Brouillette was indicted on July 30, 2015, and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, attempted carjacking, brandishing a firearm during a carjacking, and brandishing and discharging a firearm during a carjacking.  According to the indictment, Brouillette committed these crimes on July 8, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M.  On that day, Brouillette was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his status as a convicted felon; he had two felony convictions for receiving or transferring stolen vehicles in the Second Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico in Bernalillo County. 

Brouillette pled guilty to two counts of the indictment charging him with carjacking and discharging a firearm in furtherance of the carjacking on Nov. 6, 2016.  In entering the guilty plea, Brouillette admitted that on July 8, 2015, as he attempted to escape from police and collided with another vehicle, he got out of his vehicle, pointed a gun at the other driver and ordered the other driver out of his vehicle.  Brouillette also admitted that he attempted to take the other vehicle but it was disabled, he fired shots at the officers who were trying to apprehend him, and then fled on foot. 

This case was investigated by the ATF office in Albuquerque and APD.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Presiliano A. Torrez prosecuted 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 for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.  Because New Mexico’s violent crime rates, on a per capita basis, are amongst the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community is collaborating to target repeat offenders from counties with the highest violent crime rates, including Bernalillo County, under this initiative.

ALBUQUERQUE –Jesse Denver Hanes has been charged with federal firearms and carjacking offenses arising out of an Aug. 12, 2016 traffic stop in Hatch, N.M., during which Hanes allegedly shot and killed Hatch Police Officer Jose Chavez and Hanes’ efforts to evade arrest following the shooting.  The federal charges against Hanes are contained in a criminal complaint  filed this morning in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico.

The federal charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division.  Joining them in making the announcement were Third Judicial District Attorney Mark D’Antonio, Chief James Gimler of the Hatch Police Department, Chief Pete N. Kassetas of the New Mexico State Police, and Doña Ana County Sheriff Enrique Vigil.

Hanes, 38, a resident of Columbus, Ohio, is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, carjacking, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.  The criminal complaint alleges that Hanes committed these crimes in Doña Ana County, N.M., on Aug. 12, 2016.  At the time, Hanes was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his status as a convicted felon.

Hanes was arrested this afternoon on the federal charges by the FBI at a hospital in El Paso, Texas, where he is recuperating from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.  His initial appearance in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., has yet to be scheduled.

In addition to the charges in the federal criminal complaint, Hanes has been charged with the first-degree murder of Officer Chavez in a criminal complaint filed in the Third Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico in Doña Ana County.  The state’s murder investigation is continuing.  Hanes also is facing an unrelated murder charge in Ohio.      

According to the federal criminal complaint, on the afternoon of Aug. 12, 2016, Officer Chavez executed a traffic stop in Hatch, N.M., on a Lexus driven by Hanes and in which two other men were passengers.  During the traffic stop, Hanes allegedly shot Officer Chavez in the upper torso.  Officer Chavez died later that night as a result of the gunshot wound.

The criminal complaint alleges that after Hanes and his passengers fled from the scene of the shooting in the Lexus, Hanes shot himself in the leg/groin-area.  After Hanes and his passengers parted company, Hanes stopped at a rest area near Radium Springs, N.M., where he allegedly shot a motorist and carjacked the motorist’s vehicle, a Chevrolet.  The motorist suffered a serious injury and remains hospitalized in stable condition.

Deputies of the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office located the Chevrolet allegedly carjacked by Hanes based on information provided by witnesses and gave chase.  The chase ended when Hanes crashed the Chevrolet.  After Hanes was taken into custody, a handgun, believed to be the firearm used to shoot Officer Chavez and the motorist, was recovered from the Chevrolet.

If convicted of the crimes charged in the federal criminal complaint, Hanes faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in prison for unlawfully possessing a firearm and 25 years in prison on the carjacking charge.  If convicted for discharging a firearm during the carjacking, Hanes faces a mandatory minimum penalty of ten years in prison , which must be served consecutive to any sentence imposed on the other charges.   These potential penalties apply only to the federal charges and are beyond any penalties that may be imposed under state laws. 

Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations, and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI, Hatch Police Department, Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office and New Mexico State Police, with assistance from the 3rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office.  The following agencies also assisted in the investigation:  Albuquerque and El Paso offices of the FBI, ATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Border Patrol, Las Cruces Police Department, El Paso (Texas) County Sheriff’s Office and El Paso (Texas) Police Department.  

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron O. Jordan and Marisa A. Ong of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office are 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 felony conviction records for federal prosecution with the goal of removing violent, repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

Ohio Man to be Prosecuted Under Federal “Worst of the Worst” Anti-Violence Initiative

Jesse Denver Hanes, 38, of Columbus, Ohio, has been charged with federal firearms and carjacking offenses arising out of an Aug. 12, traffic stop in Hatch, New Mexico, during which Hanes allegedly shot and killed Hatch Police Officer Jose Chavez and Hanes’ efforts to evade arrest following the shooting.  The federal charges against Hanes are contained in a criminal complaint filed this morning in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico.

The federal charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez of the District of New Mexico and Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division.  Joining them in making the announcement were Third Judicial District Attorney Mark D’Antonio, Chief James Gimler of the Hatch Police Department, Chief Pete N. Kassetas of the New Mexico State Police and Doña Ana County Sheriff Enrique Vigil.

Hanes is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, carjacking and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.  The criminal complaint alleges that Hanes committed these crimes in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, on Aug. 12.  At the time, Hanes was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his status as a convicted felon.

Hanes was arrested this afternoon on the federal charges by the FBI at a hospital in El Paso, Texas, where he is recuperating from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.  His initial appearance in federal court in Las Cruces, New Mexico, has yet to be scheduled.

In addition to the charges in the federal criminal complaint, Hanes has been charged with the first-degree murder of Officer Chavez in a criminal complaint filed in the Third Judicial District Court for the state of New Mexico in Doña Ana County.  The state’s murder investigation is continuing.  Hanes also is facing an unrelated murder charge in Ohio.     

According to the federal criminal complaint, on the afternoon of Aug. 12, Officer Chavez executed a traffic stop in Hatch on a Lexus driven by Hanes and in which two other men were passengers.  During the traffic stop, Hanes allegedly shot Officer Chavez in the upper torso.  Officer Chavez died later that night as a result of the gunshot wound.

The criminal complaint alleges that after Hanes and his passengers fled from the scene of the shooting in the Lexus, Hanes shot himself in the leg/groin-area.  After Hanes and his passengers parted company, Hanes stopped at a rest area near Radium Springs, New Mexico, where he allegedly shot a motorist and carjacked the motorist’s vehicle, a Chevrolet.  The motorist suffered a serious injury and remains hospitalized in stable condition.

Deputies of the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office located the Chevrolet allegedly carjacked by Hanes based on information provided by witnesses and gave chase.  The chase ended when Hanes crashed the Chevrolet.  After Hanes was taken into custody, a handgun, believed to be the firearm used to shoot Officer Chavez and the motorist, was recovered from the Chevrolet.

If convicted of the crimes charged in the federal criminal complaint, Hanes faces a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for unlawfully possessing a firearm and 25 years in prison on the carjacking charge.  If convicted for discharging a firearm during the carjacking, Hanes faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, which must be served consecutive to any sentence imposed on the other charges.   These potential penalties apply only to the federal charges and are beyond any penalties that may be imposed under state laws. 

Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations, and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI, Hatch Police Department, Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office and New Mexico State Police, with assistance from the Third Judicial District Attorney’s Office.  The following agencies also assisted in the investigation:  Albuquerque and El Paso offices of the FBI, ATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Border Patrol, Las Cruces Police Department, El Paso, Texas, County Sheriff’s Office and El Paso Police Department.  

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron O. Jordan and Marisa A. Ong of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office are 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 felony conviction records for federal prosecution with the goal of removing violent, repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible. 

ALBUQUERQUE – U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez issued the following statement upon learning of the passing of Officer Jose Chavez of the Hatch Police Department, who died tonight as a result of injuries sustained when he was shot during a traffic stop earlier today:

“On behalf of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the entire federal law enforcement community, I want to express our deepest condolences to the family of Officer Jose Chavez and the men and women of the Hatch Police Department.  Violence against law enforcement officers is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated.”

“Officer Chavez’s death underscores once again the real dangers that are routinely faced by those who protect and serve their fellow citizens, and reminds us that we are deeply indebted to our law enforcement officers for placing their lives on the line each and every day in order to preserve public safety.” 

“The thoughts and prayers of the entire federal law enforcement community are with Officer Chavez’s family and loved ones during this very difficult time.”

ALBUQUERQUE – U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry of the Phoenix Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) will hold a press conference at 10:00 A.M. TODAY, FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2016, to announce the results of a significant ATF-led multi-agency law enforcement operation.  They will be joined by the leadership of the agencies participating in the operation.

WHO:            

U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez

Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry, ATF Phoenix Field Division

2nd Judicial District Attorney Kari E. Brandenburg

Special Agent in Charge Will R. Glaspy, DEA El Paso Division

Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Alex Ramos

New Mexico State Police Chief Pete N. Kassetas

Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden E. Eden, Jr.

Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales III

New Mexico Corrections Department Secretary Gregg Marcantel

Rio Rancho Police Chief Michael Geier

WHEN:         

FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2016

10:00 a.m.

 WHERE:      

U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of New Mexico

201 Third Street NW

10th Floor Multi-Media Room (Reception on Ninth Floor)

Albuquerque, NM 87102

OPEN PRESS

NOTE: All media must present government-issued photo I.D. (i.e., driver’s license) and valid media credentials.  Media may begin to arrive at 9:30 a.m.  Inquiries regarding logistics should be directed to Alyssa Ferda at 505-224-1480 or alyssa.ferda@usdoj.gov.

ALBUQUERQUE – Daniel V. Olguin, 29, an enrolled member of the Isleta Pueblo who resides in Bosque Farms, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 37 months in prison for his assault conviction.  Olguin will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.

Olguin was arrested on Jan. 15, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm.  According to the complaint, Olguin assaulted the victim, an Isleta Pueblo woman, by striking and punching her repeatedly with a closed fist on Dec. 19, 2015.  The complaint also asserted that Olguin strangled the victim on Dec. 18-19, 2015.

Olguin was subsequently indicted on Feb. 9, 2016, and charged with assault resulting in serious bodily injury and assault by a habitual offender which occurred between Dec. 18 and 19, 2015 in Indian Country in Valencia County.  According to the indictment, Olguin was previously convicted of domestic violence, battery on a household member and aggravated assault in Isleta Tribal Court in 2009 and 2012.

On April 1, 2016, Olguin pled guilty to Count 1 of the indictment charging him with assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  In entering the guilty plea, Olguin admitted that on Dec. 19, 2015, he assaulted the victim by striking her with a closed fist on her face and head.  The victim suffered bilateral nasal bone fractures and a minimally displaced left zygomatic fracture as a result of the assault, which took place on the Isleta Pueblo.

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

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

ALBUQUERQUE – U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry of the Phoenix Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) today announced the results of a four-month, multi-agency investigation targeting violent crime in Bernalillo County, N.M., during a press conference.  Joining them in making the announcement were 2nd Judicial District Attorney Kari E. Brandenburg, Special Agent in Charge Will R. Glaspy of DEA’s El Paso Division, Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Alex Ramos, New Mexico State Police Chief Pete N. Kassetas, Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden E. Eden, Jr., Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales III, New Mexico Corrections Department Secretary Gregg Marcantel, and Rio Rancho Police Chief Michael Geier.

The ATF-led investigation resulted in the filing of 58 federal indictments and one federal criminal complaint charging 104 Bernalillo County residents with federal firearms and narcotics trafficking offenses.  The investigation also developed information leading to the indictment of four other individuals on state charges arising out of two murders in Bernalillo County in May and June 2016. 

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, which concluded yesterday, was the ninth multi-agency, multi-month investigation completed throughout the United States under the ATF’s Enhanced Enforcement Initiative (EEI).

The investigation was also 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.

In announcing the results of the investigation, U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez said, “The purpose behind this investigation and its resulting prosecutions is to ensure that we keep control of our streets.  The law enforcement community is sending a loud and clear message to the worst of the worst offenders in our community:  you cannot commit crime in New Mexico with impunity and without consequence.  We are putting you on notice.  We are watching, and we will continue to be vigilant.”

 “ATF’s Enhanced Enforcement Initiative (EEI) has cut a distinctive path through the violent criminal element in the Albuquerque metropolitan area.  Utilizing the federal firearms and narcotics laws, our undercover agents have arrested 98 individuals and taken 127 firearms off the streets, making this EEI the most successful and impactful enforcement operation to date said,” ATF Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry.  “The federal prosecution of these individuals, some of whom have significant criminal histories, puts the brakes on the turnstile justice often experienced in the state judicial system.  Our goal is simple:  to put violent, repeat offenders behind bars for as long as possible, and keep them from interacting with the good people of New Mexico.”

“The results of this enforcement initiative exceeded our expectations.  It has confirmed, however, what those of us in law enforcement already knew:  there is a clear and direct correlation between drugs, guns and violence,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Will R. Glaspy.  “DEA will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to target those individuals and criminal organizations who spread their poison on the streets of Albuquerque, and in doing so we will make our community a safer place for all.”

Deputy U.S. Marshal Alex Ramos added, “By combining the resources of the various agencies, we are able to accomplish many things that one agency by itself would be hard pressed to achieve.  When law enforcement and the public join forces, each are doing their part to make our communities, our homes and most importantly, our families safer.  This was truly a team effort.”

To date, 94 of the 104 federal defendants and the four state defendants have been arrested.  The defendants were arrested during two phases of the investigation.  The first began in mid-April 2016 and concluded on July 7, 2016, and the second began on July 8, 2016 and concluded on August 10-11, 2016.  As of the issuance of this press release, ten federal defendants have yet to be arrested and are considered fugitives.  Information about the defendants and the charges against them is attached to this press release.

During the course of the investigation, law enforcement officers took 127 firearms, including a number of assault-type weapons, off the streets of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County.  They also purchased and seized more than 17 pounds of methamphetamine, more than 2.5 pounds of heroin, 14 ounces of crack cocaine, more than a pound and a half of cocaine, and 100 pills.   Four vehicles were also seized during the investigation.

 “Once again, we are proud to be part of the cooperative effort by federal and state agencies to effect greater public safety for our citizens,” said 2nd Judicial District Attorney Kari E. Brandenburg.  “Our prosecutors are dedicated to doing their best to ensure justice for the families and friends of the victims.  I want to personally thank each agency for their hard work and assure them of our continued commitment.”

“The citizens of New Mexico are safer today because of the collaborative effort between law enforcement agencies.  When law enforcement agencies combine resources and assets, we are able to prevent violent crimes,” said New Mexico State Police Chief Pete N. Kassetas.  “This operation is a great example of how local, county, state and federal agencies are working with State District Attorneys and the U.S. Attorney to prevent violent crimes.  It also reinforces that there are consequences to those that choose to commit violent crimes in our state.”

“The Albuquerque Police Department greatly appreciates that ATF selected Albuquerque for this complex operation, which has been extremely successfully because of strong support from the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” said Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden E. Eden, Jr.  “This operation demonstrates yet again the critical cooperation necessary to fight crime and the criminal element that preys on the innocent.  As these cases advance through the criminal justice system, we will all witness the strength of our collaborative commitment to the safety and security of this community.” 

New Mexico Corrections Department Secretary Gregg Marcantel noted, “The work represented today is much more than cooperation between agencies – it is true collaboration. It is collaboration because much more is involved than simply working together.  These results are about law enforcement, corrections and prosecutors, with like hearts and purpose, walking along-side one another to add value and safety to our communities.”

 “In times of minimal staffing and other diminished resources, multi-jurisdictional activities like this one will prove to be an effective approach to combating the serious violent crime epidemic in our communities.  The old adage, ‘united we stand, but divided we fall’ still holds true today,” said Rio Rancho Police Chief Michael Geier.  “The Rio Rancho Police Department was honored to be part of this innovative and cooperative team effort.”

The following agencies participated in the investigation:  ATF, including its Albuquerque office, DEA in Albuquerque, U.S. Marshals Service, New Mexico State Police, Albuquerque Police Department, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, the Security Threat Intelligence Unit and the Probation and Parole Division of the New Mexico Corrections Department, and the Rio Rancho Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly A. Brawley, Rumaldo R. Armijo, Norman Cairns, Eva M. Fontanez, Edward Han, Samuel A. Hurtado, Paul Mysliwiec, Paul H. Spiers, James D. Tierney, Presiliano A. Torrez, David M. Walsh, and Jacob A. Wishard are prosecuting the federal cases.  The state cases are being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Sherri Trevino and Mark Probasco of the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

Charges in indictments and criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

Photographs of the ten fugitives are attached to this press release.  Individuals with information on the whereabouts of these fugitives are asked to contact the U.S. Marshals Service at (505) 346-6400.

ATF Takedown Defendants and Charges

ATF Fugitive Ayala        ATF Fugitive Barela    ATF Fugitive Bowman       ATF Fugitive Chestnut     ATF Fugitive Cropsey ATF Fugitive Loya   ATF Fugitive Parra      ATF Fugitive Rivas       ATF Fugitive Ruiz ATF Fugitive Torrez       

 

ALBUQUERQUE – William Detwiler, 67, a non-Indian who resides in Vanderwagon, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to child sexual abuse and kidnapping charges.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, Detwiler will be sentenced within the range of 120 to 150 months in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.  Detwiler will be required to register as a sex offender after completing his prison sentence.

The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division, and New Mexico State Police Chief Pete N. Kassetas.

Detwiler, who has a prior conviction for criminal sexual contact with a minor, was arrested on May 31, 2016, on a four-count indictment, charging him with two counts of aggravated child sexual assault and two counts of kidnapping.  According to the indictment, Detwiler kidnapped an Indian child under the age of 16 years and sexually abused the victim on two occasions between Nov. 2013 and June 2014.  Detwiler was charged with committing the four crimes on the Navajo Indian Reservation in McKinley County, N.M.

During today’s plea hearing, Detwiler pled guilty to a felony information charging him with abusive sexual contact and kidnapping.  In entering the guilty plea, Detwiler admitted that in Nov. 2013, 2013, he engaged in sexual contact with the victim and acknowledged that the victim was under the age of 16 years.  Detwiler further admitted that on a date between Aug. 1, 2014 and Sept. 30, 2014, he kidnapped a different Indian child under the age of 16 years.

Detwiler 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 the New Mexico State Police.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas Marshall and Novaline D. Wilson 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 is being prosecuted as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution.  Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders primarily based on their prior convictions for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.  Because New Mexico’s violent crime rates, on a per capita basis, are amongst the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community is collaborating to target repeat offenders from counties with the highest violent crime rates under this initiative.

ALBUQUERQUE – The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit alleging that New Mexico State University and its Board of Regents (NMSU) discriminated against a female former assistant track coach on the basis of sex by paying her less than similarly-situated men in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

The Justice Department’s complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico and alleges that, over the relevant periods of time, NMSU paid Meaghan Harkins thousands of dollars less per year than it paid to two male assistant track coaches with similar responsibilities, in violation of Title VII.  Title VII is a federal statute that prohibits employment discrimination – including discrimination in compensation – on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin and religion.  

“Women deserve the same salary and the same respect as their male colleagues with similar job duties,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “Lawsuits like this one demonstrate the Justice Department’s steadfast commitment to enforcing federal law to close the wage gap.”

“This lawsuit reflects the recognition by the Department of Justice of the bedrock principle of equal pay for equal work and that this principle must be applied to all employees within the public sector workforce,” said U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez of the District of New Mexico.

Harkins originally filed a charge of sex discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).  The EEOC’s El Paso Area Office investigated the charge and found reasonable cause to believe that NMSU discriminated against Harkins.  After unsuccessful conciliation efforts, the EEOC referred the charge to the Justice Department. 

Enforcement of federal employment discrimination laws remains a top priority of the Justice Department.  More information about Title VII and other federal employment laws is available on the Civil Rights Division’s website at www.justice.gov/crt.

NMSU Complaint

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit alleging that New Mexico State University and its Board of Regents (NMSU) discriminated against a female former assistant track coach on the basis of sex by paying her less than similarly-situated men in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The Justice Department’s complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico and alleges that, over the relevant periods of time, NMSU paid Meaghan Harkins thousands of dollars less per year than it paid to two male assistant track coaches with similar responsibilities, in violation of Title VII.  Title VII is a federal statute that prohibits employment discrimination – including discrimination in compensation – on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin and religion.

“Women deserve the same salary and the same respect as their male colleagues with similar job duties,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “Lawsuits like this one demonstrate the Justice Department’s steadfast commitment to enforcing federal law to close the wage gap.”

“This lawsuit reflects the recognition by the Department of Justice of the bedrock principle of equal pay for equal work and that this principle must be applied to all employees within the public sector workforce,” said U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez of the District of New Mexico.

Harkins originally filed a charge of sex discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).  The EEOC’s El Paso Area Office investigated the charge and found reasonable cause to believe that NMSU discriminated against Harkins.  After unsuccessful conciliation efforts, the EEOC referred the charge to the Justice Department.

Enforcement of federal employment discrimination laws remains a top priority of the Justice Department.  More information about Title VII and other federal employment laws is available on the Civil Rights Division’s website at www.justice.gov/crt.

New Mexico State University Complaint

ALBUQUERQUE – Fabian Tsethlikai, 47, a member and resident of Zuni Pueblo, N.M., was sentenced this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 21 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on a domestic assault by a habitual offender charge. 

Tsethlikai was arrested on Feb. 10, 2016, on an indictment charging him with assault of an intimate partner by a habitual offender.  The indictment alleged that Tsethlikai committed the offense on Dec. 10, 2014, on Zuni Pueblo in McKinley County, N.M.  Tsethlikai was charged as a habitual offender based on his two prior domestic violence convictions in Zuni Pueblo Tribal Court.  Zuni Pueblo Tribal Court records reflect that Tsethlikai’s prior convictions occurred in 2010 and 2011.

On May 13, 2016, Tsethlikai pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on Dec. 10, 2014, he assaulted the victim, his intimate partner, by repeatedly striking her in the face with his fist while driving a vehicle within the Zuni Reservation.  He also acknowledged his two prior tribal court convictions.

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

ALBUQUERQUE – This morning a U.S. Magistrate Judge sitting in Las Cruces, N.M., found probable cause to support a criminal complaint charging Gerry Billy Olivas, 39, of El Paso, Texas, with a cocaine trafficking offense after Olivas waived a preliminary hearing.  Olivas was remanded into custody pending trial.

Olivas was arrested on Aug. 3, 2016, on a criminal complaint alleging that he possessed approximately 18.8 kilograms (41.44 pounds) of cocaine in Otero County, N.M.  According to the complaint, Olivas was arrested on Aug. 3, 2016, after U.S. Border Patrol agents at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint south of Alamogordo, N.M., allegedly seized approximately 16.2 kilograms (35.71 pounds) of cocaine from Olivas’ vehicle.  The agents also seized approximately 2.6 kilograms (5.73 pounds) of cocaine from a storage unit located in El Paso that was allegedly owned by Olivas. 

If convicted of the charge in the criminal complaint, Olivas faces a statutory minimum of ten years and a maximum of life in federal prison.  Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated by the Alamogordo station of the U.S. Border Patrol and the Las Cruces office of the DEA.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Brock Taylor of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – The Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the state of New Mexico today announced a settlement with Chevron Mining Inc. (CMI) requiring $143 million in cleanup work at the Chevron Questa Mine Superfund site near Questa, New Mexico.   As part of the settlement, the company will perform a pilot project to cover about 275 acres of the tailing facility where mine waste or “tailings” are stored, operate a water treatment plant and install groundwater extraction systems.  CMI will also pay over $5.2 million to reimburse EPA’s past costs for overseeing cleanup work at the site. 

“This settlement will advance substantial cleanup work at the Questa site, and require actions to prevent future contamination of the Red River,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.  “This settlement is the product of excellent cooperation between the state and federal governments and CMI to continue the vital cleanup work at the Chevron Questa Mine Site.”

 “This settlement builds on the consent decree entered into in September of last year and represents another affirmative step towards remedying the serious environmental damages suffered by this beautiful area of New Mexico as a result of decades of extensive mining activities,” said U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez of the District of New Mexico.  “In addition to requiring crucial cleanup work, the settlement includes important measures to prevent further contamination of the environment and provides for extensive monitoring to ensure compliance.”

“Protecting precious water resources is essential to the health of New Mexico’s communities and the state’s economy,” said EPA Regional Administrator Ron Curry. “While mining pollution is a complex issue, EPA and our partners are pleased to see the next phase of the cleanup at the Questa site take shape.”

“This $143 million cleanup is a powerful example of regulatory protections that work,” said Acting Secretary Butch Tongate for the New Mexico Environment Department.  “In addition to the $112 million already collected for environmental work during this administration, the State of New Mexico is pleased with the enforcement of regulations that hold Chevron Mining accountable for the environmental impacts caused by the now-closed Questa Mine which will foster a renewed Questa/Red River destination area.”

The proposed partial consent decree, if approved by the court, will provide for the next phase of the cleanup at the former mine site.   It is the largest settlement of its kind for cleanup work in EPA Region 6. CMI has already completed a number of response projects at the site under previous agreements with EPA, including the cleanup of Eagle Rock Lake and the removal of numerous tailing spills.  The new work will improve efforts to permanently prevent contamination from the site from affecting the Red River and other water resources and further reduce risks for nearby communities and the surrounding environment.  This includes covering and revegetating about 275 acres of the tailings facility, improving and installing new systems that prevent contaminated water from reaching the Red River and operating and maintaining a water treatment plant. The settling parties will also monitor the remedy’s long-term effectiveness at reducing risks to human health and the environment.

The proposed settlement announced today follows on a September 2015 consent decree entered into by the United States, on behalf of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture, and the State, on behalf of the New Mexico State Office of Natural Resource Trustee, resolving claims for natural resource damages at the Site.  Under that consent decree, CMI paid more than $4.2 million for restoring, replacing or acquiring natural resources damaged by mine activities.  The current consent decree addresses separate claims from the natural resource damages consent decree.

The Chevron Questa Mine, previously known as the Molycorp Mine, operated intermittently from 1919 until 2014, when CMI permanently closed the mine.  Mining operations and waste disposal contaminated soil, sediment, surface water and groundwater.    While the mine was operating, approximately 328 million tons of acid-generating waste rock were excavated and deposited in nine large waste rock piles.  After molybdenum was extracted from ore, the tailing was transported by pipeline to a tailing facility where it was deposited in tailing impoundments. 

The cleanup is being accomplished under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, commonly known as Superfund.  The Superfund law protects human health and the environment while safeguarding taxpayer dollars by holding parties that contributed to contamination responsible for cleaning it up.  Since 1980, EPA’s Superfund program has managed the cleanup of the nation’s most hazardous waste sites and has responded to environmental emergencies, oil spills and natural disasters.

The public has the opportunity to submit written comments on the consent decree, which is subject to the 30-day comment period and final approval by the court. A copy of the consent decree is available at https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decree/us-v-chevron-mining-inc.

ALBUQUERQUE – Sara Marie Martinez, 36, of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court to an indictment charging her with heroin and methamphetamine trafficking offenses.  Martinez entered the guilty plea without the benefit of a plea agreement.  Co-defendant Ernest Cordova, 44, also of Albuquerque, previously pled guilty to the indictment in March 2016.

Martinez and Cordova were charged in March 2016 in a three-count indictment with heroin and methamphetamine trafficking offenses.  According to the indictment, Cordova conspired to distribute heroin and methamphetamine from Jan. 22, 2016 through Feb. 18, 2016 and Cordova and Martinez possessed heroin and methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Feb. 18, 2016.  The indictment alleged that they committed the crimes in Bernalillo County, N.M.  The indictment included forfeiture provisions requiring Cordova and Martinez to forfeit $8,840.27 to the United States.

According to court documents, DEA agents observed Cordova engage in several drug deals in the Albuquerque-area between Jan. 22, 2016 and Feb. 18, 2016.  During the execution of a search warrant on Cordova’s residence on Feb. 18, 2016, the DEA found 134 grams of heroin and 82 grams of methamphetamine. 

At sentencing, Martinez and Cordova each face a statutory minimum of five years and maximum of 40 years in federal prison.  Martinez and Cordova remain in custody pending sentencing hearings.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander M. Uballez 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 – Peter Pagan, 23, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to violating the Hobbs Act by attempting to rob an Albuquerque-area fast food restaurant and to discharging a firearm during the attempted robbery.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, Pagan will be sentenced to 147 months in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

Pagan was charged by criminal complaint in Oct. 2015, with discharging a firearm while attempting to rob the Blake’s Lotaburger located at 6215 San Antonio Dr. NE in Albuquerque on Jan. 27, 2015. According to the complaint, Pagan entered the restaurant, pointed a firearm at employees, and demanded money.  When the employees were unable to open the cash register, Pagan shot a round of ammunition into the ceiling before running out of the restaurant.  When a customer attempted to chase him down, Pagan allegedly fired nine rounds into the customer’s vehicle.

Pagan subsequently was indicted on Nov. 17, 2015, and charged with violating the Hobbs Act and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.  According to the indictment, Pagan committed the crimes on Jan. 27, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M.

During today’s proceedings, Pagan pled guilty to the indictment.  In entering the guilty plea, Pagan admitted that on Jan. 27, 2015, he entered a Blake’s Lotaburger armed with a loaded handgun and demanded money.  Pagan further admitted firing a round into the ceiling of the restaurant when employees were unable to open the cash register.

State charges against Pagan were dismissed in favor of federal prosecution.  Pagan has been in federal custody since his arrest on the federal complaint and remains detained, 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 Albuquerque Police Department with assistance from the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul H. Spiers and Rumaldo R. Armijo are prosecuting the case.

This case is being prosecuted as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution.  Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible. In recognition that New Mexico’s violent crime rates, on a per capita basis, are amongst the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community has come together to is collaborating the initiative is significantly exceed the national average. 

ALBUQUERQUE – Joe Pat McFarlin, 68, of Fountain, Fla., pled guilty last week to social security fraud in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M.  Immediately after entering his guilty plea, McFarlin was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay $342,475.08 in restitution to the Social Security Administration (SSA) and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

McFarlin was charged by a felony information on Aug. 21, 2015, with defrauding the SSA.  The information alleged that McFarlin failed to disclose the fact that he was gainfully employed to the SSA in order to obtain social security benefits to which he was not entitled.  The information alleged that McFarlin committed the crime in Valencia County, N.M., in May 2012.

On July 26, 2016, McFarlin entered a guilty plea to the information, and admitted that in May 2012, he sent a work activity report to the SSA, which failed to disclose the fact that he was working for the Franken Oil Company and its subsidiary AB Tire Company.  McFarlin admitted that he concealed the fact that he was being paid in order to increase the amount the SSA paid him in disability benefits.

In his plea agreement, McFarlin agreed to the entry of an order requiring him to pay $154,046.40 in restitution to the SSA.  McFarlin also agreed to the entry of an order requiring him to pay $188,428.68 in restitution to the VA.

This case was investigated by the SSA, Office of the Inspector General and the VA, Office of the Inspector General.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mysliwiec prosecuted the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Raybert Darin Ahidley, 29, an enrolled member of the Mescalero Apache Nation who resides in Mescalero, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to a sexual abuse of a minor charge. 

Ahidley was arrested on Feb. 8, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with sexually abusing a minor who was between 12 and 16 years of age in Otero County, N.M.  The criminal complaint indicated that the victim is also a member of the Mescalero Apache Nation.

During today’s proceedings, Ahidley pled guilty to a felony information charging him with sexually abusing a minor.  In entering the guilty plea, Ahidley admitted that he was 29 years old when he engaged in a sexual act with the victim who was 15 years old at the time.  Ahidley further admitted that the abuse took place on the Mescalero Apache reservation in Otero County.

At sentencing, Ahidley faces a statutory maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison.  He will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.  Ahidley remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Patrick M. Lopez, 48, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 18 months in prison followed by ten years of supervised release for his conviction on child pornography charges.  Lopez also was ordered to pay a $3,000 fine.  He will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.

Lopez was arrested in July 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  At the time of his arrest, Lopez was employed as a paramedic/firefighter with the Bernalillo County Fire Department.

The charges against Lopez arose from an investigation by the FBI and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO).  On July 10, 2015, the FBI and BCSO executed a federal search warrant at Lopez’s residence.  During the search, forensic examiners found a laptop computer that contained videos consistent with child pornography.

On Jan. 19, 2016, Lopez pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of child pornography without the benefit of a plea agreement.  According to the information, Lopez possessed the child pornography in Bernalillo County, N.M., between Jan. 19, 2015 and July 10, 2015.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and BCSO, both members of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shammara H. Henderson 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 – Mia Coy Campbell, 33, of Carlsbad, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to violating the federal firearms laws by unlawfully possessing a firearm.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, Campbell will be sentenced to 60 months in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

Campbell was arrested on Sept. 24, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with unlawfully possessing a firearm on July 30 and 31, 2015, in Eddy and Chaves Counties, N.M.  According to the complaint, law enforcement officers found an assault rifle, which Campbell allegedly used to shoot at an occupied residence in Carlsbad, when they executed a search warrant at a residence in Roswell, N.M.

Campbell was indicted in Oct. 2015, and charged with unlawfully possessing a firearm in Eddy County on Aug. 4, 2015.  The indictment was superseded in Feb. 2016, to charge Campbell with two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm based on his possession of firearms on July 31, 2015 and Aug. 4, 2015, and one count of unlawfully possessing a machinegun on July 31, 2015.  Campbell was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his prior felony convictions for possession of methamphetamine and escape of a prisoner. 

During today’s proceedings, Campbell entered a guilty plea to the superseding indictment.  In entering the guilty plea, Campbell admitted that on July 30 and 31, 2015, he possessed an assault rifle, which is considered a machinegun under federal law.  Campbell also admitted that on Aug. 4, 2015, he unlawfully possessed a pistol.  Campbell acknowledged that he was prohibited from possessing firearms because of his status as a convicted felon. 

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

Campbell also is awaiting sentencing in another federal case in which a federal jury convicted him in March 2016, of being a felon in possession of a firearm.  In that case, the jury found Campbell guilty of unlawfully possessing a firearm in Eddy County on Sept. 24, 2015.  Campbell faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in prison.

This case was investigated by the Roswell office of the FBI and the Carlsbad Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Randy M. Castellano and John A. Balla of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office are prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Ramon Phillip Baca, 44, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 57 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his heroin trafficking conviction. 

Baca was indicted on Dec. 1, 2015, and charged with distributing heroin on May 20, 2015 and June 16, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M.

On May 3, 2016, Baca pled guilty to distributing heroin, and admitted that on June 16, 2015, he met with an individual who, unbeknownst to him was working with the FBI, with the intention of selling him two ounces of heroin in exchange for $1,300. 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the New Mexico Corrections Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana B. Long prosecuted the case as part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative.

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

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Joseph Vallejos, 23, of Roswell, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to methamphetamine trafficking charges.

Vallejos and co-defendant Renee Rodriguez, 32, also of Roswell, were charged in a criminal complaint filed in Sept. 2015, with conspiracy, distribution of methamphetamine, and firearms offenses in Chaves County, N.M.  According to the criminal complaint, Vallejos and Rodriguez sold an aggregate of 157.7 grams of methamphetamine to undercover law enforcement officers during nine separate transactions between July 2015 and Sept. 2015.   The complaint further charged Rodriguez with brandishing a handgun during a methamphetamine transaction on July 8, 2015, and Vallejos with brandishing a handgun during a methamphetamine transaction on Sept. 16, 2015.

Vallejos and Rodriguez subsequently were charged in a nine-count indictment that was filed on Dec. 17, 2015.  The indictment charged Vallejos and Rodriguez with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine from July 1, 2015 through July 30, 2015.  It also charged Rodriguez with distributing methamphetamine on three occasions in July 2015, and Vallejos and Rodriguez with distributing methamphetamine on four occasions in July 2015.  Rodriguez also was charged with brandishing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime on July 8, 2015.  According to the indictment, Vallejos and Rodriguez committed the nine crimes in Chaves County.

During today’s proceedings, Vallejos pled guilty to a conspiracy charge and four methamphetamine distribution charges.  At sentencing, Vallejos faces a statutory minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison followed by not less than four years of supervised release.  Vallejos also will be ordered to pay $750.00 in restitution to the United States, which represents the proceeds he derived from the drug trafficking offenses to which he pleaded guilty.  Vallejos remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

Rodriguez has entered a not guilty plea to the complaint and indictment.  She remains detained pending trial, which is currently scheduled to begin on Aug. 15, 2016.  Charges in criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusations.  Defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI and the New Mexico State Police.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy M. Castellano of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Tyree Brent Mariano, 26, an enrolled member of the Mescalero Apache Nation residing in Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty this morning in federal court to escape and violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

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.

Mariano was arrested on May 21, 2016, on an indictment charging him with violating SORNA by failing to update his sex offender registration and escaping from a half-way house where he was confined following his conviction on a child sexual abuse charge.  According to the indictment Mariano failed to update his registration between July 8, 2015 and March 8, 2016, in Bernalillo County, N.M.

During today’s proceedings, Mariano pled guilty to the indictment.  In entering the guilty plea, Mariano admitted that he was a sex offender as a result of his child sexual abuse conviction on April 19, 2012.  On June 11, 2015, Mariano registered as a sex offender with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and was residing in a halfway house in Albuquerque as a condition of his supervised release following his release from prison.  Mariano admitted that on June 27, 2015, he left the halfway house without permission and did not return.  He further admitted that he did not notify the Sheriff’s Office of his change of residence as required under SORNA when he absconded from the halfway house.

At sentencing, Mariano faces a maximum statutory penalty of ten years in federal prison followed by not less than five years of supervised release.  Mariano will be required to register as a sex offender when he completes his prison sentence.  Mariano remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander B. Shapiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Daniel Albert Chavez, 53, of Acoma, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to robbing a Wells Fargo Bank branch in Grants, N.M.

Chavez was arrested on March 29, 2016, on an indictment charging him with robbing two banks in Cibola County, N.M.  According to the indictment, Chavez robbed the Bank of New Mexico branch located at 824 West Santa Fe Ave. in Grants on Feb. 20, 2015, and the Wells Fargo Bank branch located at 201 North First St. in Grants on Oct. 20, 2015.

 During today’s plea hearing, Chavez pled guilty to one bank robbery charge, and admitted robbing the Wells Fargo Bank located at 201 North First St. in Grants, on Oct. 20, 2015.

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

This case was investigated by the Gallup office of the FBI and the Grants Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Han is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Raymond Castillo, 27, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to violating the Hobbs Act by participating in the armed robbery of a Walmart store in Albuquerque in Oct. 2014.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, Castillo will be sentenced to 216 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

Castillo was arrested on Dec. 12, 2014, on a criminal complaint charging him with conspiring to rob a business involved in interstate commerce at gunpoint in violation of the Hobbs Act.  The criminal complaint charged Castillo and a co-conspirator with the armed robbery of convenience store located at 1111 Lomas Blvd. NW in Albuquerque on Dec. 7, 2014.  The complaint further alleged that the co-conspirator, who was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a bandana that covered his face, shot and injured the store clerk during the robbery, and that Castillo drove the co-conspirator away from the scene of the robbery. 

On Jan. 21, 2015, Castillo and five co-defendants were charged with violating the Hobbs Act and federal firearms laws in a five-count indictment.  Count 1 charged Castillo and five other Albuquerque residents, Reyes Lujan, 27, Daniel Maestas, 36, Johnny Ramirez, 30, Frank Gallegos, 31, and Henry Lujan, 23, with conspiring to violate the Hobbs Act.  Count 2 charged the six men with violating the Hobbs Act by robbing a Walmart Store in Bernalillo County, N.M., on Oct. 29, 2014.  Count 3 charged Castillo with brandishing a firearm during the robbery of the Walmart store, and Count 4 charges Maestas with using and carrying a firearm during the robbery.  Count 5 charged Ramirez, Gallegos, Reyes Lujan and Henry Lujan with aiding and abetting the use of firearms during the robbery.

The indictment was superseded in May 2015, by adding a new defendant, Reynaldo Marquez, 26, of Albuquerque, and two new counts.  One of the new counts charged Castillo and Marquez with interfering with interstate commerce by robbing a 7-11 convenience store located in Bernalillo County on Dec. 7, 2014.  The other charged Marquez with discharging a firearm during that robbery.

On Oct. 19, 2015, Reyes Lujan entered a guilty plea, and was sentenced on March 8, 2016, to 71 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.  Gallegos, Ramirez and Maestas also have entered guilty pleas and have yet to be sentenced.

Marquez and Henry Lujan have entered pleas of not guilty to the superseding indictment.   Charges in indictments are merely accusations, and all criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Albuquerque Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Norman Cairns and Samuel A. Hurtado are prosecuting this case.

This case is being prosecuted as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution.  Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible. In recognition that New Mexico’s violent crime rates, on a per capita basis, are amongst the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community has come together to is collaborating the initiative is significantly exceed the national average. 

ALBUQUERQUE – This morning a U.S. Magistrate Judge sitting in Albuquerque, N.M., found probable cause to support a criminal complaint charging Timothy J. Martin, 32, of Taos, N.M., with federal child pornography charges.  Martin was released pending trial to a halfway house and will be under pretrial supervision and other conditions of release.

Martin was arrested on July 29, 2016, on a criminal complaint alleging that he possessed, received and distributed visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit activity between Jan. 2016 and July 2016, in Taos County, N.M.  According to the criminal complaint, the investigation into Martin began in Sept. 2015, when Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents received a report identifying a shared network that was being used to share child pornography files.  On Jan. 3, 2016, investigators identified an IP address subscribed to Martin at Martin’s residential address that allegedly was being used to download child pornography files.  On July 28, 2016, a search warrant was executed at Martin’s residence, and law enforcement seized a laptop computer that allegedly was used to download and view child pornography. 

If convicted of receiving or distributing child pornography, Martin faces a statutory penalty of a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison.  If convicted of possessing child pornography, he faces a statutory penalty of a mandatory minimum of ten years and a maximum of 20 years in prison.  Martin faces these enhanced penalties because of his prior conviction on a sex-related offense.  Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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

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 – Johnny Ramirez, 33, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to violating federal drug trafficking laws.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, Ramirez will be sentenced to 84 months in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

Ramirez and his co-defendant Larry Valadez, 33, also of Albuquerque, were charged on Dec. 1, 2015, with drug trafficking offenses in an eight-count indictment.  Ramirez and Valadez were charged with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and heroin in May 2015, and with distributing methamphetamine and heroin in May 2015 and June 2015.  According to the indictment, all eight offenses occurred in Bernalillo County, N.M.  The indictment included forfeiture provisions, requiring Ramirez to forfeit $4,200 and Valadez to forfeit $4,100 to the United States.

During today’s proceedings, Ramirez pled guilty to two methamphetamine distribution counts and one heroin distribution count.  In entering the guilty plea, Ramirez admitted that on May 19, he arranged for a co-conspirator to sell 23.52 grams of methamphetamine and 4.3 grams of heroin to an individual who was working with the FBI.  Ramirez also admitted that on June 16, 2015, he sold 14.71 grams of methamphetamine to the same individual working with the FBI.  Ramirez acknowledged that the drug deals took place in Albuquerque. 

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

Valadez has entered a not guilty plea to 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 Albuquerque office of the FBI and the New Mexico State Police.   The Organized Crimes Section of the U.S. Attorney’s 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, 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 – Armando Gutierrez-Torres, 51, a Mexican national, was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., for his conviction on conspiracy charges arising out of a scheme to steal money from the United States by using the identities of others to generate and cash fraudulent federal income tax refund checks.  Gutierrez-Torres was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison; he will be deported after completing his prison sentence.

Gutierrez-Torres’ codefendant Maria L. Ceniceros, 44, of Anthony, N.M., previously was sentenced on June 10, 2016, to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for her conviction on theft of government property and aggravated identity theft charges arising from the scheme.

Ceniceros and Gutierrez-Torres were charged in June 2015, with conspiracy to commit theft of government property and aggravated identity theft in a criminal complaint.  According to the criminal complaint, Ceniceros and Gutierrez-Torres conspired with each other and others to perpetuate the scheme, and that Ceniceros abused her position as a Document Technician at the Doña Ana County Clerk’s Office to facilitate the scheme.

Law enforcement authorities learned of the scheme in mid-May 2015, when Ceniceros approached a co-worker in the Doña Ana County Clerk’s Office and attempted to solicit his participation in the scheme.  The co-worker reported the solicitation to law enforcement authorities and agreed to assist officers in conducting an undercover investigation into Ceniceros and Gutierrez-Torres.  During the investigation, Ceniceros provided three fraudulent federal income tax refund checks to the co-worker so that he could cash the checks with the understanding that the proceeds would be divided between Ceniceros, Gutierrez-Torres and the co-worker.  Ceniceros and Gutierrez-Torres were arrested on related-state charges on May 29, 2015.

Gutierrez-Torres was sentenced based on his guilty plea to a felony information charging him with conspiracy to commit theft of public money and conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft.  In entering the guilty plea, Gutierrez-Torres admitted that in Nov. 2014, he asked Ceniceros to provide identifiers for use in filing fraudulent federal income tax returns and obtain fraudulent refund checks.  Gutierrez-Torres also asked Ceniceros to mail fraudulent federal income tax returns to the IRS and cash refund checks in the total amount of $11,963.73. 

Ceniceros pled guilty in April 2016, to a similar felony information and admitted accessing the Voter Registration database at work and to record the names, dates of birth and social security numbers of 111 people whose identities she knew would be used to file fraudulent federal income tax returns in order to obtain fraudulent refund checks.  She also admitted mailing fraudulent federal income tax returns and cashing refund checks for Gutierrez-Torres.

This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark A. Saltman of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

ALBUQUERQUE – Marcos Barela, 28, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 70 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for violating the federal firearms laws. 

Barela was charged by federal indictment on Oct. 7, 2015, with unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition on May 4, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M.  According to the indictment, Barela was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his prior criminal history, which includes felony convictions for embezzlement, robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, possession of a controlled substance, battery on a peace officer, arson and criminal damage to property.

Barela was arrested on a warrant for a state probation violation on May 4, 2015.  Barela subsequently was arrested on the federal indictment Jan. 21, 2016, after he was transferred to federal custody from state custody.

On April 1, 2016, Barela pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on May 4, 2015, he possessed a loaded firearm, which was in his pants’ pocket when he was arrested.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque offices of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the DEA with assistance from the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office and the Probation and Parole Division of the New Mexico Corrections Department.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Walsh prosecuted the case under a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution.  Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders primarily based on their prior criminal convictions for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.  Because New Mexico’s violent crime rate, on a per capita basis, is one of the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community is collaborating to target repeat offenders from counties with the highest violent crime rates, including Bernalillo County, N.M., under this initiative.

ALBUQUERQUE – Joseph Baldonado, 30, of Los Lunas, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 60 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction. 

Baldonado was arrested in Jan. 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with distribution of methamphetamine in Valencia County, N.M.  According to the complaint, Baldonado sold quantities of methamphetamine to an undercover agent on the following dates: 58.2 ounces on Jan. 6, 2016, 58.8 ounces on Jan. 12, 2016, and 57.2 ounces on Jan. 22, 2016.

Baldonado was subsequently indicted on Feb. 9, 2016, and charged with three counts of distribution of methamphetamine on Jan. 6, 12, and 22, 2016, in Valencia County. 

On April 15, 2016, Baldonado pled guilty to Count 3 of the indictment charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.  In entering the guilty plea, Baldonado admitted possessing more than 50 grams of methamphetamine on Jan. 22, 2016, and selling it to another person for $1,600. 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and the HIDTA Region I Narcotics Task Force and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eva M. Fontanez.

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 – Thomas Martinez, 26, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today to 330 months in prison for his conviction on federal carjacking and firearms charges arising out of a one-day violent crime spree.  Martinez will be on supervised release for five years after he completes his prison sentence

The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, 2nd Judicial District Attorney Kari E. Brandenburg, Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry of the Phoenix Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Chief Gorden E. Eden, Jr., of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD).

The U.S. Attorney said that Martinez was prosecuted as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution.  “As a general matter, the initiative targets violent and repeat offenders based on their prior felony convictions.  Periodically, we prosecute individuals without prior serious convictions because they are have engaged in extraordinarily violent conduct that seriously jeopardized the community’s safety,” said U.S. Attorney Martinez.  “Martinez was prosecuted under the initiative based on a one-day violent crime spree on July 22, 2015, which endangered the lives of numerous Albuquerque residents and several officers.”

“This case reflects the partnership we have with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and other critical agencies.  Our community is safer when we work together,” said 2nd Judicial District Attorney Kari E. Brandenburg.

ATF Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry added, “Today’s sentencing reflects how seriously we enforce the federal firearms laws.  If a criminal chooses to use a firearm during the commission of a violent crime as Martinez did, he better be prepared to spend a long time in federal prison.”

“Mr. Martinez showed a blatant disregard for our victim, three children, our officer and our community during his dangerous crime spree,” APD Police Chief Police Gorden E. Eden Jr. said.  “We truly appreciate our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their efforts to ensure this violent offender was sentenced under the ‘worst of the worst’ initiative.”

Martinez was charged with carjacking and firearms offenses in a criminal complaint filed on July 23, 2015.  He subsequently was indicted on Aug. 11, 2015, and charged with two counts of carjacking and two counts of brandishing and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.  According to the indictment, Martinez committed all four crimes on July 22, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M., as he attempted to evade APD officers who were seeking to arrest him on a warrant arising out of an unrelated state court case.

Martinez committed the first carjacking as he attempted to flee from officers who were conducting surveillance near a hotel in northeast Albuquerque.  Martinez ran to a sedan occupied by a driver and three children as the driver was entering a ramp onto Interstate 40.  Martinez brandished a firearm at the driver, pushed the driver into the sedan’s passenger seat, and used the sedan to continue his flight from the officers.  The children were able to get out of the vehicle before Martinez drove away with the driver.  An APD officer who was attempting to prevent the carjacking was dragged by the Chevrolet as Martinez drove away.  As Martinez continued his flight, the driver of the sedan attempted to get Martinez to stop the vehicle, and Martinez responded by discharging the firearm in an attempt to shoot the driver.  When Martinez slowed down, the driver was able to jump out of the sedan.

Martinez continued his flight in the sedan and abandoned the vehicle in a neighborhood in southeast Albuquerque.  There Martinez forced his way into another vehicle which was occupied by an older man seated in the front passenger seat.  As Martinez began to drive away, another man confronted Martinez, got into the vehicle, and began fighting with Martinez.  During the fight, Martinez attempted to discharge his gun at the man.  Shortly thereafter, the man was able to disarm Martinez, and Martinez was arrested by APD officers on state charges.

Martinez was arrested on the federal charges on Oct. 7, 2015, after he was transferred from state custody to federal custody.  The related state charges against Martinez were dismissed in favor of federal prosecution.

On Dec. 11, 2015, Martinez pled guilty to two counts of carjacking and one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. 

This case was investigated by the ATF office in Albuquerque and APD with assistance from the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mysliwiec prosecuted the case as part of the “worst of the worst” anti-violence initiative.  Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution primarily based on prior criminal convictions with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.  Because New Mexico’s violent crime rates, on a per capita basis, are amongst the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community is collaborating to target repeat offenders from counties with the highest violent crime rates, including Bernalillo County, under this initiative.

ALBUQUERQUE – Arturo Dominguez Morales, 45, of Lamesa, Texas, was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 90 months in prison for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction.  Morales will be on supervised release for 6 years after completing his prison sentence. 

Morales was arrested on June 30, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute in Lea County, N.M.  According to the complaint, agents with the Lea County Drug Task Force (LCDTF) discovered more than 230 grams of methamphetamine in Morales’ vehicle after learning from confidential sources that Morales was bringing large amounts of methamphetamine into Hobbs, N.M., for distribution.

On Sept. 30, 2015, Morales pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.  In entering the guilty plea, Morales admitted that on June 28, 2015, the LCDTF found 232 grams of methamphetamine in his vehicle.  Morales also admitted that he was delivering the methamphetamine to another individual.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA and the LCDTF and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Terri J. Abernathy.

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 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 – Rob Begay, 24, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Twin Lakes, N.M., pled guilty this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to an indictment charging him with involuntary manslaughter. 

Begay was arrested on Dec. 2, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with involuntary manslaughter.   Begay was indicted on Dec. 17, 2015, and was charged with killing a Navajo woman on Nov. 28, 2015, while driving under the influence of alcohol.  According tot the indictment, Begay committed the crime on the Navajo Indian Reservation in McKinley County, N.M.

During today’s change of plea hearing, Begay pled guilty to the indictment and admitted killing the victim by driving recklessly while under the influence of alcohol.  Begay admitted that because of his intoxication he was incapable of exercising clear judgment and a steady hand in operating a vehicle.

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

This case was investigated by the Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Burkhead. 

ALBUQUERQUE – Ruben Cantu, 43, of Hobbs, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 100 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  He will be on supervised release for two years after completing his prison sentence.

U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez said that Cantu, who has six felony convictions over the past 23 years, was prosecuted as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution.  Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.  Because New Mexico’s violent crime rates, on a per capita basis, are amongst the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community is collaborating to target repeat offenders from counties with the highest violent crime rates, including Lea County, under this initiative.

 “Today’s sentencing serves as an example to those criminals who continue to plague or community and utilize crime guns,” said Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry of the Phoenix Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).  “We will find you, and we will lock you up in a federal prison where you will no longer experience an iota of freedom.”

“The FBI and its federal partners are glad to work with local law enforcement to get the worst offenders off the streets and put them behind bars for a long time,” said Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division.  “These convictions demonstrate how federal, state and local agencies working together can make their communities safer.  I am grateful to the FBI Special Agents and staff who worked on this case, along with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Lea County Drug Task Force, and Hobbs Police Department.”

Cantu was arrested on July 7, 2014, on an indictment charging him with two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  The indictment alleged that Cantu committed the crimes on March 5, 2014, in Lea County, N.M.  At the time, Cantu was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition because of his prior felony convictions.

 On Dec. 8, 2015, Cantu pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on March 5, 2014, he was in possession of a firearm and multiple rounds of ammunition.  He further acknowledged that he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition based on his status as a convicted felon. 

This case was investigated by the ATF’s office in Las Cruces, the Roswell office of the FBI, the Lea County Drug Task Force and the Hobbs Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Terri J. Abernathy of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office prosecuted 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 – Matthew Martinez, 38, of Espanola, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 70 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on a heroin trafficking charge.  Martinez also was ordered to pay $500 in community restitution and to pay a $2,000 money judgment to the United States.

 Martinez was arrested on Dec. 3, 2015, on a three-count indictment charging him with heroin trafficking offenses.  The indictment charged Martinez with distributing heroin in Bernalillo County, N.M., on April 30, 2015.  It also charged Martinez with distributing heroin on two occasions in Santa Fe, N.M.; the first time on May 1, 2015 and the second on Sept. 16, 2015.

On March 21, 2016, Martinez pled guilty to distributing heroin on Sept. 16, 2015.  In his plea agreement, Martinez admitted selling approximately two ounces of heroin to an undercover FBI agent outside of a Santa Fe-area Walmart store.  By his own admission, Martinez is associated with the Syndicato de Nuevo Mexico (SNM) prison gang and became involved in the heroin trade as a result of his gang affiliation.

“New Mexico’s Espanola Valley has had one of the country’s highest heroin overdose death rates for decades.  Every time a heroin trafficker is removed from the Valley, the community continues its efforts to turn the tide against the heroin epidemic that has devastated its residents for generations,” said U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez.  “This prosecution is part of a bigger effort that we call HOPE.  The HOPE Initiative recognizes that law enforcement is only part of the answer, and that the community’s treatment, prevention and education needs must also be addressed.”

“New Mexico for too long has had the unenviable distinction of having one of the highest heroin-related death rates in the country,” said Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division.  “Today's sentence should send a clear signal the FBI is committed to bringing to justice those drug-traffickers who endanger our communities and destroy so many lives.  I would like to thank the FBI Special Agents and support staff, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office and New Mexico Corrections Department for their work on this case, and I congratulate the U.S. Attorney's Office on a successful prosecution.”

The Santa Fe office of the FBI investigated this case with assistance from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office and the New Mexico Corrections Department.  The Organized Crimes Section of the U.S. Attorney’s 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, 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 – Darrick Negale, 30, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 16 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).  Negale will be required to register as a sex offender after completing his prison sentence.  The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and U.S. Marshal Conrad E. Candelaria.

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.

Negale was charged in a criminal complaint on Oct. 26, 2012, with violating SORNA by failing to update his sex offender registration.  On Sept. 10, 2013, Negale was indicted on that same charge. According to the indictment, Negale failed to update his registration between Sept. 25, 2012 and Oct. 10, 2012, in Bernalillo County, N.M.

Negale was convicted of sexual abuse of a minor in Indian Country in June 2007.  On May 6, 2010, Negale registered as a sex offender in Bernalillo County and agreed to notify the sheriff of the county to which he moved if he relocated outside of the county.  Negale last registered as a sex offender on Oct. 3, 2011, in Bernalillo County and subsequently failed to notify the U.S. Probation Office of his whereabouts when he left a residential reentry program in Albuquerque without permission on Sept. 27, 2012.  Negale pled guilty to the indictment on Nov. 10, 2015, 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 Elaine Y. Ramirez.

ALBUQUERQUE – Billie Cotten, 59, of Gallup, N.M., pled guilty this morning in federal court in Albuquerque. N.M., to violating the federal firearms laws by unlawfully possessing an unregistered sawed-off shotgun.

Cotten was arrested on Oct. 13, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of unregistered sawed-off shotguns on July 1, 2015, in McKinley County, N.M.  According to the complaint, Cotten sold 24 OxyContin pills and a sawed-off shotgun to individuals working with law enforcement on June 19, 2015.  It also charged Cotten with selling a second sawed-off shotgun to the same individual on July 1, 2015.  A search of the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR) confirmed that neither sawed-off shotgun was registered with the NFRTR.

Cotten was indicted on Nov. 5, 2015, and charged with distributing OxyContin on June 19, 2015, and unlawfully possessing unregistered sawed-off shotguns on June 19, 2015 and July 1, 2015. 

During today’s proceedings, Cotten pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of an unregistered sawed-off shotgun.  In entering the guilty plea, Cotten admitted that on July 1, 2015, he possessed and sold an operable sawed-off shotgun that was not registered to him in the NFRTR.

At sentencing, Cotten faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison.  A sentencing hearing 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 Edward Han.

ALBUQUERQUE – Yesterday afternoon following a one-day bench trial, a U.S. Magistrate Judge sitting in Las Cruces, N.M., found Alvin Brent Laney, 28, guilty of the misdemeanor offense of failing to stop his vehicle when directed to do so by a U.S. Forest Service officer.  The U.S. Magistrate Judge acquitted Laney of a second misdemeanor offense, interfering with a U.S. Forest Service officer.  U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and Special Agent in Charge Robin Poague, Southwest Region, U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement & Investigations, announced the verdict.

Laney, a resident of Luna, N.M., was charged in a two-count misdemeanor information with interfering with a U.S. Forest Service officer engaged in the performance of his duties, and failing to stop a vehicle when directed to do so by a U.S. Forest Service officer.  According to the misdemeanor information, Laney committed the two offenses in Catron County, N.M., on Jan. 11, 2015. 

During the one-day bench trial, a U.S. Forest Service officer testified that while he was on duty in a marked patrol car in the Gila National Forest in Catron County on Jan. 11, 2015, Laney tailgated his patrol car for approximately four miles before illegally passing the officer’s patrol car and another vehicle on a blind curve.  The officer activated his patrol car’s emergency lights and sirens, and pursued Laney along U.S. Highway 180.  Laney failed to stop his vehicle and continued to drive for at least a mile and a half, while passing areas where he could have safely pulled over, even though the officer was pursuing him with lights and sirens.  Laney finally came to a stop and parked his vehicle next to a Catron County deputy sheriff’s patrol car.

The U.S. Forest Service officer testified that when he approached Laney, Laney claimed that the officer did not have the authority to pull him.  Laney, who testified in his own defense, claimed that he did not remember what he said to the officer.  The evidence at trial included a video recording from the deputy sheriff’s lapel camera that captured part of the exchange between the U.S. Forest Service officer and Laney, including a statement by Laney questioned the officer’s authority to pull him over.

After rendering the verdict, the U.S. Magistrate Judge ordered Laney to pay $135 in fines and court costs.

The case was investigated by the Reserve Ranger District of the Gila National Forest of the U.S. Forest Service and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander B. Shapiro and Luis A. Martinez of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

ALBUQUERQUE – John David Lee Bacy, 24, a member and resident of Zuni Pueblo, N.M., pled guilty today to firearms and residential burglary charges.

Bacy was charged in a three-count indictment filed on March 23, 2016, with unlawfully possessing stolen firearms on Aug. 13 and 14, 2014, and with residential burglary on Aug. 13, 2014.  According to the indictment, Bacy committed these crimes on Zuni Pueblo in McKinley County, N.M.

During today’s proceedings, Bacy pled guilty to unlawfully possessing stolen firearms and committing a residential burglary on Aug. 13, 2014.  In entering the guilty plea, Bacy admitted entering a residence on the Zuni Indian Reservation, prying open a gun safe, and taking firearms without the owner’s authorization.  Bacy also admitted that he attempted to pawn three of the firearms the next day.

At sentencing, Bacy faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison for possessing stolen firearms and a maximum penalty of three years for residential burglary.  Bacy remains in federal custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Zuni Pueblo Tribal Police Department and the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Spindle is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Richard Isaac Quezada, 33, of Las Cruces, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to violating the federal firearms laws.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, Quezada will be sentenced to 60 months in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

Quezada was arrested in March 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition on March 14, 2016, in Doña Ana County, N.M.  According to the complaint, Quezada was arrested after he discharged a firearm in front of a residence, striking a vehicle.  During a search incident to arrest, the officers found that Quezada was in possession of a loaded firearm and ammunition.

Today Quezada pled guilty today to a felony information charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm.  In entering the guilty plea, Quezada admitted that on March 14, 2016, he possessed a loaded handgun and additional amounts of ammunition.  Quezada admitted that he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of importation of marijuana.  Quezada remains in federal 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 Las Cruces Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah M. Davenport of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – A federal jury sitting in Las Cruces, N.M., returned a verdict today finding Javier Amador-Flores, 49, guilty on a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy charge after a three-day trial.  U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Waldemar Rodriguez of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, Chief Patrol Agent Jeffrey D. Self of the U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector, and Commander Byron Wester of the Lea County Drug Task Force, announced the guilty verdict.

Amador-Flores, a permanent resident from Mexico who lived in Denver City, Texas, was arrested on July 29, 2015, on an indictment charging him and four co-defendants, three of whom are Mexican nationals, with participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Lea County, N.M., from May 1, 2015 through May 6, 2015.  Three of Amador-Flores’ co-defendants, Joel Dominguez-Morales, 41, Maria Marcelina Cardoza-Burciaga, 40, and Myrna Orozco, 32, a U.S. citizen, were also arrested.  The fourth co-defendant, Jose Manuel Trujillo, 41, has yet to be arrested and is considered a fugitive. 

Dominguez-Morales, Cardoza-Burciaga and Orozco pled guilty to participating in the methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy charged.  Amador-Flores elected to proceed to trial. 

Amador-Flores’ trial began July 18, 2016, and concluded this afternoon when the jury returned a verdict of guilty on the sole count indictment.  The evidence at trial established that Amador-Flores participated in the methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy by receiving and storing shipments of methamphetamine at the residence he shared with Orozco in Denver City.  Other members of the conspiracy distributed the methamphetamine in Lea County. 

According to trial testimony, 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 be delivering 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. 

As part of their continuing investigation, on May 6, 2015, the officers executed a consensual search at the residence shared by Amador-Flores and Orozco, where they seized additional methamphetamine.  During the trial, the jury learned that after his arrest, Amador-Flores made a statement to law enforcement officers in which he acknowledged that Trujillo and Dominguez-Morales were his friends and that he was aware of their drug trafficking activities.  He also stated that Trujillo offered to pay him $2,000 to deliver the methamphetamine to the undercover agent on May 6, 2015.  The evidence established that although Amador-Flores agreed to make the delivery for Trujillo, he did not do so because Dominguez-Morales was able to make the delivery.

The jury returned a guilty verdict after deliberating approximately two and a half hours.

Amador-Flores remains in custody pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.  At sentencing, Amador-Flores faces a statutory mandatory minimum of ten years and a maximum of life in prison.  He will be deported after completing his prison sentence.

His co-defendants Dominguez-Morales, Cardoza-Burciaga and Orozco each face a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.  Dominguez-Morales and Cardoza-Burciaga will be deported after serving their prison sentences.

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 – Christian Tafolla, 26, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to robbing an Albuquerque-area Wells Fargo Bank branch on March 18, 2016.

Tafolla was arrested on March 21, 2016, and charged by criminal complaint with robbing the Wells Fargo Bank located at 8100 Wyoming Blvd. in Albuquerque, on March 18, 2016.  The complaint alleged that Tafolla robbed the bank by handing the bank teller a note demanding money.  Tafolla was arrested later that day after Albuquerque Police Department officers observed Tafolla entering a store near the Wells Fargo Bank.

Tafolla subsequently was indicted on April 12, 2016.  During today’s proceedings, Tafolla pled guilty to the indictment and admitted robbing the bank on March 18, 2016.

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

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Bart Dutch Marshall, 61, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to methamphetamine trafficking and firearms charges.

Marshall was arrested on March 23, 2015, on an indictment charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and using firearms during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime on April 3, 2014, in Bernalillo County, N.M.

During today’s proceedings, Marshall pled guilty to a felony information of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possessing firearms during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.  In entering the guilty plea, Marshall admitted that on April 3, 2014, the Albuquerque Police Department executed a search warrant on his residence and found over 80 grams of pure methamphetamine, which he intended to sell to others.  Marshall further admitted that he had a number of firearms in his residence which he possessed for his protection as part of the drug trade.

At sentencing, Marshall faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the methamphetamine trafficking charge.  He also faces a statutory mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of life in federal prison on the firearms charge which must be served consecutive to the sentence imposed on the drug charge.  Marshall remains detained 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 Albuquerque Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Wishard is prosecuting the case. 

ALBUQUERQUE – Dwight T. Brown, 19, a member and resident of Acoma Pueblo, N.M., was sentenced this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 20 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his involuntary manslaughter conviction.

Brown was arrested on April 15, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with voluntary manslaughter on April 9, 2015.  According to the criminal complaint, Brown ran over and killed a 13-month old Indian child while driving under the influence of alcohol on Acoma Pueblo in Cibola County, N.M.

On Aug. 26, 2015, Brown pled guilty to a felony information charging him with involuntary manslaughter for causing the death of the victim while driving under the influence of alcohol.  The guilty plea was entered without the benefit of a plea agreement.

This case was investigated by the Laguna/Acoma Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Acoma Pueblo Tribal Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Niki Tapia-Brito prosecuted the case. 

ALBUQUERQUE – Chelsey A. Billy, 21, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Standing Rock, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to an assault charge.  Under the terms of her plea agreement, Billy will be sentenced to 30 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Billy was arrested on Jan. 7, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging her with assaulting a Navajo man with a hammer on Dec. 22, 2015.  The victim was seriously injured and suffered a fracture to his left orbital eye socket and various lacerations to his head and face.

Billy subsequently was indicted on Jan. 26, 2016, and was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, a hammer, with intent to do bodily harm and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  The indictment alleged that Billy committed the crimes on the Navajo Indian Reservation in McKinley County, N.M., on Dec. 22, 2015.

During today’s proceedings, Billy pled guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and admitted to striking the victim in the head with a hammer several times, causing serious bodily injury to the victim.  Billy remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Spindle.

ALBUQUERQUE – Vincent Steven Martinez, 38, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 139 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on robbing four businesses involved in interstate commerce while on supervised release from an armed bank robbery conviction.  Martinez was sentenced to 121 months in prison for the robberies and an additional 18 months in prison for violating the terms of his supervised release. 

The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division and Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales, III.

Martinez was arrested on Dec. 4, 2015, on an indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on Sept. 15, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M.  At the time, Martinez was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted on aggravated battery, armed bank robbery and bank robbery charges.  The indictment subsequently was superseded on Jan. 14, 2016, to charge Martinez with violating the Hobbs Act on Sept. 12, 2015, by robbing a business engaged in interstate commerce.

On June 3, 2016, Martinez pled guilty to the Hobbs Act robbery charged in the superseding indictment as well as a felony information charging him with three additional Hobbs Act robberies.  In entering the guilty plea, Martinez admitted the following criminal conduct:

• On Aug. 14, 2015, Martinez entered a gas station located at 1715 Moon Street NE in Albuquerque, threatened the cashier with a handgun, and stole cash and cigarettes.

• On Sept. 5, 2015, Martinez entered the hotel located at 4501 Alameda Blvd. in Albuquerque, brandished a knife at a hotel employee, and demanded money.Martinez robbed the employee of cash and a camera.

• On Sept. 10, 2015, Martinez entered a hotel located at 5241 San Antonio Dr. in Albuquerque, brandished a gun at a hotel employee, and robbed the employee of cash.

• On Sept. 12, 2015, Martinez entered the Family Dollar at 7900 Second St. NW in Albuquerque, showed the cashier a gun, and demanded money.When Martinez grabbed money from the cash register, he dropped his wallet, which contained his driver’s license.

Martinez also admitted violating the terms of his supervised release on a prior felony conviction by using a controlled substance and possessing a firearm.  In admitting these violations, Martinez acknowledged that he was convicted on April 28, 2010, on an armed bank robbery charge and was sentenced to 71 months of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release, which commenced on June 13, 2014.  Martinez admitted that in Dec. 2014, he submitted a urinalysis sample that tested positive for opioids because of his heroin use.  He also admitted failing to participate in an outpatient substance abuse program as required by the terms of his supervised release.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana B. Long prosecuted 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.  Because New Mexico’s violent crime rate, on a per capita basis, is one of the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community is collaborating to target repeat and violent offenders, primarily based on their prior convictions, from counties with the highest violent crime rates under this initiative. 

ALBUQUERQUE – Destiny Stephenson, 35, of Roswell, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to methamphetamine trafficking charges. 

Stephenson is one of 41 individuals charged in Sept. 2015, with drug trafficking offenses as a result of an eight-month multi-agency investigation by the FBI, the DEA, Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force, Roswell Police Department, Chaves County Sheriff’s Office and New Mexico State Police.  Twenty-one of the defendants were charged with federal offenses and the remaining 20 with state crimes. 

The investigation, which was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program, initially targeted a drug trafficking organization (DTO) allegedly led by Joseph Ray Mendiola, 34, of Roswell, that allegedly distributed methamphetamine in Chaves County.  It later expanded to include drug traffickers who allegedly supplied methamphetamine to the Mendiola DTO and other drug traffickers operating in Chaves County.  The OCDETF program 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.

Sixteen of the 21 defendants facing federal charges were charged in a 24-count indictment filed on Sept. 22, 2015.  The remaining five federal defendants were charged in criminal complaints.  The 20 state defendants were charged by criminal complaints.

Count 1 of the Indictment charged 15 of the 16 defendants with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine between June 2015 and July 2015.  Count 2 charged three defendants with conspiracy to distribute cocaine in July 2015.  Counts 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 charged certain defendants with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute in July 2015.  Counts 8 through 24 charged certain defendants with using communications devices (telephones) to facilitate drug trafficking crimes.  All crimes charged in the federal indictment occurred in Chaves County.

During the course of the investigation, law enforcement officers executed 14 federal search warrants for 10 residences in Roswell, one residence in Dexter, N.M., and three vehicles.  During the execution of those search warrants, the officers seized approximately 5600 grams of methamphetamine, $35,960.00 in cash, and multiple firearms including two assault rifles.  Five of the federal defendants, including Mendiola, were arrested on July 31, 2015, the date on which the officers executed the 14 federal search warrants. 

During today’s proceedings, Stephenson pleaded guilty to conspiracy and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.  In entering the guilty plea, Stephenson admitted that between June 2015 and July 31, 2015, she conspired to distribute methamphetamine in Chaves County.  Stephenson further admitted that on July 17, 2015, Chaves County Drug Task Force officers discovered 58.5 grams of methamphetamine in her vehicle which she intended to distribute.  At sentencing Stephenson faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.  A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

On Feb. 24, 2016, co-defendant Susan Ceballos, 35, of Roswell, pled guilty to conspiracy and use of a communication device to facilitate a drug trafficking crime.  At sentencing, Ceballos faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.  A sentencing hearing has yet has yet to be scheduled.

The remaining 19 defendants facing federal charges have entered not guilty pleas to the indictment.  Charges in indictments and criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The federal cases were investigated by the Roswell office of FBI’s Albuquerque Division, the Las Cruces office of DEA, Roswell Police Department, Chaves County Sheriff’s Office, the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force, the New Mexico State Police and the U.S. Marshals Service.  The state cases were investigated by the New Mexico State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy M. Castellano is prosecuting the federal cases, and the Fifth Judicial District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the state cases.

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 – A federal jury sitting in Las Cruces, N.M., returned a verdict today finding Jose Remberto Guzman-Dominguez, 33, and Miguel Angel Rodriguez-Flores, 47, guilty of narcotics trafficking charges after a five-day trial.  U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Waldemar Rodriguez of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, New Mexico State Police Chief Pete N. Kassetas, and Deputy Chief Jimmy Glascock of the New Mexico Motor Transportation Police announced the verdict.

 Guzman-Dominguez, a legal permanent resident from El Salvador who was residing in Las Vegas, Nev., and Rodriguez-Flores, of Hawthorne, Calif., were arrested on Nov. 14, 2015, on a criminal complaint after officers of the New Mexico Motor Transportation Police found approximately 117.15 pounds (53.14 kilograms) of narcotics in their commercial tractor-trailer during a routine inspection at the port of entry on Interstate 10 near Lordsburg, N.M.  The two men subsequently were indicted on Feb. 17, 2016, on charges that they conspired to distribute cocaine and heroin and possessed cocaine and heroin with intent to distribute.  According to the indictment, defendants committed the three offenses in Hidalgo County, N.M., on the evening of Nov. 13, 2014 and the early morning of Nov. 14, 2015.

Trial on the three-count indictment began July 11, 2016, and concluded this afternoon when the jury returned a verdict of guilty on all counts of the indictment.  The evidence at trial established that late on Nov. 13, 2015, and into the early hours of Nov. 14, 2015, the defendants were traveling in a commercial tractor-trailer from Phoenix, Ariz., to Lordsburg.  When they entered the port of entry on Interstate 10 in Hidalgo County, the New Mexico Motor Transportation Police stopped their commercial tractor-trailer to conduct a safety inspection.  After identifying several safety violations, the inspector continued with a cargo inspection and found that the trailer was fully loaded with large containers of industrial cleaning solution.  While inspecting the cargo, the inspector found four cardboard boxes that were different from the industrial cleaning solution containers.  One of the boxes was open and contained several cellophane wrapped bundles.  Because of Guzman-Dominguez’s nervous behavior and his interest in the contents of the four boxes, the inspector requested assistance from the New Mexico State Police.  The officers opened one of the cellophane bundles and found that it contained white powder that tested positive for cocaine.  The four boxes contained 51 bundles with a gross weight of 53.14 kilograms.

The jury learned that laboratory tests later performed on the contents of the 51 bundles determined that 46 of the packages contained an aggregate of 105.6 pounds (47.9 kilograms) of cocaine and five packages contained an aggregate of 11.55 pounds (5.24 kilograms) of heroin.

The jury returned its guilty verdict after deliberating approximately four-and-a-half hours.

At sentencing, Guzman-Dominguez and Rodriguez-Flores each face a statutory penalty of a mandatory minimum of ten years and a maximum of life in federal prison.  Guzman-Dominguez will be deported after completing his prison sentence.  Both remain in custody pending sentencing hearings, which have yet to be scheduled.

The Border Enforcement Security Taskforce of the Las Cruces office of Homeland Security Investigations, New Mexico State Police, and New Mexico Motor Transportation Police investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brock Taylor and Richard Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office 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, 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.  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.