District of New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE – Bobby Willis, 43, a resident of Kirtland, N.M., was arraigned this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., on an indictment charging him with wire fraud.  Willis entered a not guilty plea and was released on pretrial conditions pending trial.

The two-count indictment, which was filed on Oct. 20, 2015, alleges that, from March 2010 through Aug. 2011, Willis executed an illegal scheme to defraud two victims of $1,000,000.  According to the indictment, Willis allegedly offered the victims the opportunity to purchase a five-percent interest in a real estate investment company for $1,000,000 with the understanding that he and other individuals had also invested millions of dollars in the company.  Willis then allegedly spent $995,000.00 of the victims’ $1,000,000 instead of investing the funds.

Count 1 of the indictment alleges that on Oct. 25, 2010, Willis caused $900,000.00 to be wire transferred from the bank account of the real estate investment company to his and his wife’s bank account.  Count 2 alleges that on Nov. 12, 2010, Willis caused another $95,000.00 to be wire transferred from the real estate investment company’s bank account to his and his wife’s bank account.  The indictment includes forfeiture provisions seeking a money judgment against Willis in the amount of $1,000,000.

If convicted, Willis faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.00.  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 is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Paige Messec.

ALBUQUERQUE – Ashraf Nassar, 32, of Santa Fe, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 41 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for participating in conspiracies to distribute Oxycodone and marijuana.  Nassar also was ordered to pay a money judgment in the amount of $6,150.00 to the United States.

Nassar and co-defendants Phillip Anaya, 38, Daniel Trujillo, 32, Krystal Holmes, 29, and Sarah Romero, 36, all residents of five Santa Fe residents, were charged in Sept. 2013, with participating in an Oxycodone trafficking ring in a 16-count indictment.  The indictment subsequently was superseded in Oct. 2013, to include two additional defendants, Clarence Lee Cline, II, 66, and Mary Ann DeStefano, 53, both also of Santa Fe, and adding five new charges including conspiracy to distribute marijuana, manufacturing marijuana and maintaining a place for the purpose of manufacturing marijuana.

Nassar, Anaya, Trujillo, Holmes and Romero were arrested in Sept. 2013, as part of a multi-agency law enforcement operation that included the execution of search warrants at three residences and a business in Santa Fe.  The investigation, “Operation High Desert Bash,” was initiated in Jan. 2013 by the DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squad in Albuquerque, N.M., the Santa Fe Police Department and HIDTA Region III Narcotics Task Force in response to the epidemic increase in prescription drug abuse, addiction and overdose deaths in New Mexico, particularly among teens and young adults.

Operation Desert Bash investigation was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) program, a nationwide Department of Justice program that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations.  The investigation primarily targeted a drug trafficking organization unlawfully distributing quantities of Oxycodone in Santa Fe County.  Oxycodone is an opioid narcotic pain reliever similar to morphine that is medically prescribed to treat moderate to severe pain and can be habit-forming.  Officers seized approximately 7300 mg of Oxycodone during the investigation.

Count 1 of the 21-count superseding indictment charged the Nassar, Anaya, Trujillo, Holmes and Romero with conspiracy to distribute Oxycodone in Santa Fe County between Dec. 2012 and Sept. 2013.  Counts 2 through 4 charged Nassar, Anaya and Holmes with substantive Oxycodone distribution offenses, Nassar, Anaya, Trujillo, Holmes and Romero were charged with using telephones to facilitate drug trafficking crimes in Counts 5 through 17.  Count 18 charged Nassar, Cline and DeStefano with conspiracy to distribute marijuana.  Counts 19 through 21 charged Cline and DeStefano with conspiracy to distribute marijuana, conspiracy to maintain a place for the purpose of manufacturing marijuana, and maintaining a place for the purpose of manufacturing marijuana.

On June 2, 2015, Nassar pled guilty to two counts of the superseding indictment; conspiracy to traffic Oxycodone and conspiracy to traffic marijuana.  In entering the guilty plea, Nassar admitted that from Dec. 8, 2012 through Sept. 26, 2013, in Santa Fe he received Oxycodone from multiple sources of supply and would in turn provide that Oxycodone to re-distributers and users.  Nassar also admitted that from Jan. 2, 2013 through Sept. 23, 2013, he was supplied “high grade” marijuana which he would then redistribute to other lower-level redistributors.

All of Nassar’s co-defendants have entered guilty pleas:

• Anaya pled guilty on Nov. 19, 2014, and was sentenced on April 9, 2015, to 46 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
• Trujillo pled guilty on Jan. 30, 2015, and was sentenced on April 2, 2015, to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
• Romero pled guilty on Oct. 28, 2014, and was sentenced on March 26, 2015, to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
• Holmes pled guilty on May 26, 2015, and was sentenced on Aug. 25, 2015, to 196 days in prison or time served followed by three years of supervised release.
• DeStefano pled guilty on March 27, 2015, and was sentenced on July 7, 2015, to five years of probation.
• Cline pled guilty on Sept. 4, 2015, and is currently scheduled for sentencing in Dec. 2015.

This case was investigated by the Tactical Diversion Squad of the DEA’s Albuquerque office, the Santa Fe Police Department and the HIDTA Region III Drug Enforcement Task Force, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shammara H. Henderson and Joel R. Meyers.

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

The HIDTA Region III Drug Enforcement Task Force is comprised of officers from the New Mexico State Police, Santa Fe Police Department and Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.  It is part of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program which 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.

This case is being prosecuted pursuant to the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative.  The HOPE Initiative is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center that is partnering with the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative with the overriding goal of reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in the District of New Mexico.  The HOPE Initiative comprised of five components:  (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning.  The law enforcement component of the HOPE Initiative 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.

ALBUQUERQUE – Eddie Gallardo, 32, of Las Cruces, N.M., was sentenced this morning in Las Cruces federal court to 78 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for his conviction on cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking charges.

Gallardo was arrested on May 22, 2014, on a criminal complaint charging him with methamphetamine trafficking and being a felon in possession of a firearm.   The complaint alleged that on May 13, 2014, Gallardo sold a handgun and methamphetamine to an undercover FBI agent.   At the time, Gallardo was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of a drug trafficking offense.

Gallardo subsequently was charged in a seven-count indictment filed in Aug. 2014 with cocaine distribution on Aug. 7, 2013, Aug. 22, 2013 and Oct. 30,2013; methamphetamine distribution on Aug. 22, 2013, April 14, 2014 and May 13, 2014; and being a felon in possession of a firearm on May 13, 2014.

On Jan. 6, 2015, Gallardo pled guilty to the six drug trafficking crimes charged in Counts 1 through 6 of the indictment.  In entering his guilty plea, Gallardo admitted selling cocaine and methamphetamine on six occasions to a law enforcement officer who was acting in an undercover capacity between Aug. 7, 2013 and May 13, 2014.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office prosecuted the case.  This is one of many cases generated by a 15-month investigation by the FBI’s Las Cruces Southwest Border/Safe Streets Task Force and the New Mexico HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force (Metro Narcotics Task Force).  The investigation, which concluded in Aug. 2014, initially targeted methamphetamine manufacturers and traffickers operating out of Doña Ana County, but expanded to include individuals trafficking in other drugs and using firearms to facilitate their drug trafficking crimes.  The investigation identified sources of drug supply in Los Angeles, Calif., Tucson, Ariz., and El Paso, Texas, who were supplying drug traffickers in southern New Mexico with high-grade methamphetamine, and led to the filing of criminal charges against 75 individuals, including 42 federal defendants and 33 state defendants.  Law enforcement officers seized more than 29 pounds of methamphetamine, 37 pounds of cocaine, 4.5 ounces of heroin, 30 pounds of marijuana, 74 firearms and 17 vehicles during the course of the investigation.

ALBUQUERQUE – Paul Keenahan, 44, of Albuquerque, N.M., was arraigned this morning on an indictment charging him with distribution and possession of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  During this morning’s proceedings, Keenahan was ordered detained pending trial based on judicial findings that he poses a risk of flight and a danger to the community.

The federal indictment charges Keenahan with three counts of distribution of child pornography and three counts of possession of child pornography.  It alleges that Keenahan committed the six offenses in Bernalillo County, N.M., between Nov. 2012 and July 2015.

According to court filings, Keenahan was initially charged with related state child pornography crimes in July 2015, and was released on a bond that included the condition that he not leave Bernalillo County without prior permission from the state court.  On Aug. 28, 2015, the U.S. Marshals Service arrested Keenahan in Syracuse, N.Y., on a state arrest warrant that was issued after Keenahan violated his bond conditions.  A federal criminal complaint was filed on Sept. 4, 2015, and the U.S. Marshals Service arrested Keenahan, who was in custody in New York on Sept. 24, 2015, on the federal charges.  The federal indictment was filed on Oct. 7, 2015, while Keenahan was in the process of being transferred from New York to New Mexico to face the federal charges against him.  He made his initial appearance in federal court yesterday.

According to the criminal complaint, the investigation into Keenahan began in July 2015, when the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force received a tip that a particular IP address was being used to share child pornography.  Investigation revealed that the IP address was subscribed to a motel on Candelaria Road NE in Albuquerque, where it allegedly was being used by Keenahan, who was then employed by the motel and living at the motel.

The criminal complaint alleges that officers executed a state search warrant at Keenahan’s room on July 23, 2015, and seized a laptop computer containing files allegedly consistent with child pornography.  Keenahan was arrested on state charges that day.  A forensic examination of Keenahan’s laptop computer revealed that it contained more than 10,000 files of alleged child pornography.

The penalty upon conviction on each of the three distribution of child pornography charges is a mandatory minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.  The penalty upon conviction on the possession charge is a maximum of ten years in federal prison.  Charges in criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusations and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated by the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, Albuquerque office of the FBI, Office of the New Mexico Attorney General, and the U.S. Marshals Service with assistance from the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York.

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

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 80 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 – Robert Wraldo Duncan, Jr., 66, of Tatum, N.M., made his initial appearance this morning in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., on a criminal complaint charging him with violating the federal narcotics trafficking laws.  Duncan is being held pending a preliminary hearing and detention hearing scheduled for Nov. 4, 2015.

The criminal complaint, which was filed by the DEA, charges Duncan with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.  It alleges that Duncan committed the offense on Oct. 30, 2015, in Doña Ana County, N.M.

According to the complaint, Duncan was arrested on Oct. 30, 2015, by U.S. Border Patrol agents at the Border Patrol traffic checkpoint on Highway 70, west of Alamogordo, N.M.  The arrest was made after the agents allegedly discovered 39 bundles of marijuana weighing an aggregate of 1,116.6 pounds concealed in a horse trailer that Duncan was towing with his vehicle.  The agents also allegedly found an unloaded revolver in the center console of Duncan’s vehicle.

If convicted of the marijuana trafficking charge, Duncan faces a statutory minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison.  Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations.  All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA and the Alamogordo station of the U.S. Border Patrol.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy M. Castellano is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Francisco Mejia, 44, of Roswell, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 46 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for violating federal narcotics trafficking laws.

Mejia was arrested on March 17, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and being a felon in possession of a firearm on Feb. 24, 2015, in Chaves County, N.M.  According to the complaint, the New Mexico State Police executed a search warrant on Mejia’s residence, workshop and vehicles where they seized approximately 29.53 grams of methamphetamine, $5,240.00 in cash, a pistol, ammunition, and drug paraphernalia.  At the time, Mejia was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of possession of a controlled substance and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

On June 11, 2015, Mejia pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.  Mejia admitted that on Feb. 24, 2015, he possessed 29.53 grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.  In his plea agreement, Mejia agreed to forfeit the weapon and ammunition seized during the investigation of the case.

This case was investigated by the Roswell office of the FBI, the Chaves County Sheriff’s Office and the New Mexico State Police.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy M. Castellano of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office prosecuted the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Aaron Hubbard, 34, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Fort Defiance, Ariz., pled guilty this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a felony information charging him with abusive sexual contact of a minor child.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, Hubbard will be sentenced to ten years in prison followed by not less than three years of supervised release.  Hubbard will be required to register as a sex offender after completing his prison sentence.

Hubbard was arrested on Feb. 25, 2015, on an indictment alleging that he sexually abused the child victim from Sept. 1, 2011 through May 30, 2012, in the Navajo Indian Reservation in McKinley County, N.M.

During today’s change of plea hearing, Hubbard entered a guilty plea to an abusive sexual contact with a child charge.  In entering his guilty plea, Hubbard admitted sexually molesting a Navajo child who was less than 12 years old from Sept. 1, 2011 through May 30, 2012.  Hubbard committed the crime within the Navajo Indian Reservation.

Hubbard has been in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest and will remain detained pending his sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Raquel Ruiz-Velez 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 – Robert Steven Elliott, II, 32, of Deming, N.M., made his initial appearance this morning in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., on a criminal complaint charging him with production and possession of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  Elliott remains in federal custody pending a preliminary hearing and a detention hearing, both of which are scheduled for later this week.

The criminal complaint alleges that Elliott produced and possessed child pornography on or about Oct. 30, 2015, in Luna County, N.M.  The investigation into Elliott began on Oct. 30, 2015, when a woman contacted law enforcement authorities to report that she discovered multiple photographs which she believed to be consistent with child pornography on a cellphone.  The woman represented that the cellphone belonged to Elliott and surrendered the cellphone to the authorities.

Thereafter, law enforcement obtained a federal search warrant for the cellphone.  The cellphone was found to contain multiple images of child pornography, including images of a child under the age of 12.

 The penalty upon conviction on each of the production of child pornography charges is a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison.  The penalty upon conviction on the possession charge is a mandatory minimum of ten years and a maximum of 20 years 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 Deming and Las Cruces offices of Homeland Security Investigations, the Luna County Sheriff’s Office, the El Paso Police Department, and the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.  Individuals with information about this matter are asked to contact Homeland Security Investigations at 575-525-7400.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Shapiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office 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 80 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 – Christopher Cook, 37, of Albuquerque, N.M., made his initial appearance in federal court this morning on an indictment charging him with violating the federal firearms laws, announced 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 ATF, Chief Gorden E. Eden, Jr., of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD), Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI, and New Mexico State Police Chief Pete N. Kassetas.

U.S. Attorney Martinez said that Cook 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 based on their prior criminal convictions with the goal of removing them 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 with significant criminal conviction records from counties with the highest violent crime rates, including Bernalillo County, under this initiative.

Cook initially was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm in a criminal complaint filed by ATF on Jan. 6, 2015.  The criminal complaint alleged that Cook unlawfully possessed a firearm and ammunition on Jan. 3, 2015, when Cook shot an APD officer during a traffic stop in Bernalillo County, N.M.  On March 10, 2015, Cook was indicted on that same charge.  According to court records, Cook was prohibited from possessing either firearms or ammunition on Jan. 3, 2015, because he previously has been convicted of at least eleven felony offenses, including two involving attempted aggravated assaults on peace officers.

Cook was in state custody on related state charges from his arrest on Jan. 3, 2015, and until he was transferred to federal custody to face the charges in the federal indictment.  Cook has entered a guilty plea to the state charges and is awaiting sentencing in state court

If convicted of the federal charge, Cook faces up to ten years in federal prison.  If the court determines that Cook is an armed career criminal, Cook faces an enhanced sentence of a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison to a maximum of life imprisonment. Charges in criminal complaints and indictments are mere accusations.  Defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Albuquerque Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Albuquerque office of the FBI, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the New Mexico State Police with assistance from the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Walsh is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Tony Torrez, 31, of Albuquerque, N.M., has been charged with violating the federal narcotics trafficking and firearms laws in a criminal complaint filed by the DEA this afternoon.  Torrez, who is currently in state custody on unrelated charges, will be transferred to federal custody to answer to the charges in the criminal complaint.

The criminal complaint charges Torrez with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and using and carrying firearms in relation to drug trafficking crimes.  Torrez allegedly committed the offenses on Oct. 21 and 22, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M.

According to the criminal complaint, the investigation resulting in the federal charges against Torrez began on Oct. 21, 2015, began when the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) received a tip about a suspect who allegedly shot and killed a child during a road rage incident and his place of residence.  That day APD conducted surveillance at the residence where they observed a man, subsequently identified as Torrez, load items into a Toyota sedan.  APD officers later conducted a traffic stop on the Toyota when a woman drove away from the residence in the Toyota.  Shortly thereafter, APD officers conducted a traffic stop on a Lexus sedan that drove away from the residence and identified the driver as Torrez.  APD sealed and towed the two vehicles to the APD Crime Lab.

The criminal complaint alleges that later on Oct. 21, 2015, APD obtained and executed a state search warrant at the residence where they located shoe boxes containing U.S. currency, paraphernalia and other items consistent with the use of marijuana, marijuana, and a substance believed to be “wax,” a concentrated form of THC oil processed from the marijuana plant.  Thereafter, the DEA obtained a federal search for the residence and seized items and paraphernalia allegedly used for the distribution of marijuana and in the manufacture of THC “wax” and oil.  DEA agents also seized the U.S. currency as well as documents and items allegedly confirming that Torrez resided at the residence.

On Oct. 22, 2015, DEA agents were present when state search warrants were executed on the Lexus and Toyota sedans.  The Lexus allegedly contained a bag containing U.S. currency and a small amount of marijuana.  The Toyota allegedly contained bags containing bulk marijuana and marijuana packaged for distribution, two revolvers, two assault rifles, ammunition, a bullet proof vest, a small amount of suspected cocaine, and drug paraphernalia.  The criminal complaint alleges that the U.S. currency seized from the residence and the Toyota totaled approximately $64,000.00.   

If convicted on the marijuana trafficking charge, Torrez faces a statutory maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.  If convicted on the firearms charge, he faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison which must be served consecutive to the sentence imposed on the marijuana charge. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations.  All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Gilbert Rosales, 43, of Dinuba, Calif., was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 60 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for his cocaine trafficking conviction.

Rosales and his co-defendant Oscar Casillas-Nunez, were arrested in Oct. 2013, on a criminal complaint charging them with conspiracy to distribute cocaine after DEA agents found approximately 4.6 kilograms of cocaine in their baggage during an interdiction investigation at the Amtrak Train Station in Albuquerque on Oct. 16, 2013.  Both men were indicted Oct. 30, 2013, and charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute in Bernalillo County, N.M.

On March 27, 2015, Rosales pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on Oct. 16, 2013, he and Casillas-Nunez transported cocaine while traveling through Albuquerque on the Amtrak Train.  Rosales further admitted that when the pair arrived in Albuquerque, he left the train to avoid police, and when police questioned Casillas-Nunez he abandoned the bag the cocaine was in and did not return to the train.

Casillas-Nunez has entered a plea of not guilty to the complaint and indictment and is currently scheduled for trial in Nov. 2015.  Charges in criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated by the Interdiction Unit of the DEA’s Albuquerque office which focuses on disrupting the flow of narcotics, weapons, and the proceeds of illegal activities as they are smuggled into or through New Mexico in passenger buses, passenger trains, commercial vehicles and automobiles.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mysliwiec is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Kevin Bernard Joe, 41, a member and resident of Acoma Pueblo, N.M., was sentenced yesterday in Santa Fe, N.M., to 11 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release for his misdemeanor conviction of assaulting an Indian woman.

Joe was arrested on April 27, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with an assault charge.  According to the complaint, on March 23, 2015, the Acoma Pueblo Tribal Police Department was notified by the victim of an assault occurring on Acoma Pueblo in Cibola County, N.M.  The complaint alleged that Joe assaulted the victim, an Acoma woman, by punching her and causing the victim to sustain injuries, including a laceration above her left eye.  Joe was subsequently indicted on May 12, 2015, and charged with assault of an intimate partner resulting in substantial bodily injury.

On June 29, 2015, Joe entered a guilty plea to a misdemeanor information and admitted assaulting the victim by punching her with a closed fist.  He also acknowledged that his assault caused the victim to suffer a laceration to the left eye that required medical attention.

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 Raquel Ruiz-Velez 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.

Sixteen Search Warrants Executed in New Mexico and California as Part of Continuing Investigation into Alleged Violations of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act

Three New Mexicans have been charged with violating the Indian Arts and Crafts Act (IACA) by conspiring to import and fraudulently sell Filipino-made jewelry as Native American-made.  The indictment charging the three defendants is the result of an ongoing federal investigation led by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service into an international scheme to violate the IACA that included a law enforcement operation yesterday during which 16 search warrants were executed in New Mexico and California and related investigative activity took place in the Philippines.

The IACA prohibits the offer or display for sale, or the sale of any good in a manner that falsely suggests that it is Indian produced, an Indian product, or the product of a particular Indian and Indian tribe.  The law is designed to prevent products from being marketed as “Indian made,” when the products are not, in fact, made by Indians.  It covers all Indian and Indian-style traditional and contemporary arts and crafts produced after 1935 and broadly applies to the marketing of arts and crafts by any person in the United States.  IACA provides critical economic benefits for Native American cultural development by recognizing that forgery and fraudulent Indian arts and crafts diminish the livelihood of Native American artists and craftspeople by lowering both market prices and standards.

“American Indian and Alaska Native people have contributed tremendously to the cultural and artistic heritage of our nation and they have an important future that must be protected,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Stuart F. Delery.  “This case demonstrates our willingness to prosecute those who falsely market products as ‘Indian Made’ and thus undermine the livelihoods of Native American artists and craftspeople, many of whom are responsible for carrying precious spiritual and artistic knowledge from one generation to another.”

“The indictment announced today and yesterday’s enforcement operation are not only about enforcing the law but also about protecting and preserving the cultural heritage of Native Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez for the District of New Mexico.  “The cultural heritage of American Indians is a precious national resource and it is critically important that we provide the proper respect to those whose creations are seen by some as simple retail commodities to be exploited for profit.”

“As Chairman of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, U.S. Department of the Interior, I want to convey the Board’s deep appreciation for the outstanding leadership and contributions provided by the U.S Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, along with the other agency partners who participated in bringing this landmark enforcement action under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act,” said Chairman Harvey Pratt of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board.  “By requiring truth-in-marketing of Indian art and craftwork, the Act is intended to protect Native American artists and artisans who rely heavily on the production and sale of traditional and contemporary art and craftworks to provide their economic livelihood, preserve their rich heritage and pass along their unique culture from generation to generation.  Unfair competition from counterfeit Native American art and craftwork seriously erodes the sustainability, vitality and economic well-being of Indian tribes and their members and businesses.  The Act is also intended to protect the consumers who purchase Native American art, bringing much needed financial resources to Indian communities in the Southwest and across the country.  Eliminating the flow of counterfeit Native American art and craftwork provides a level playing field for the highly talented, dedicated, and hard-working producers of genuine Native American art.  We must protect these authentic American Treasures.”

“Under our 2012 cooperative agreement with the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has investigated numerous potential violations of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act,” said Special Agent in Charge Nicholas E. Chavez for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement for the Southwest Region.  “Our investigations primarily have focused on identifying fraudulent schemes where jewelry is marketed and sold as authentic Native American adornments to defraud tourists and other consumers.  Through these investigations, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service endeavors to protect and preserve the authenticity of jewelry produced by our country’s Native American artisans.”

The four-count indictment that was unsealed earlier today charges Nael Ali, 51, and Mohammad Abed Manasra, 53, both of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Christina Bowen, 41, of Los Lunas, New Mexico, with conspiracy to violate IACA and three substantive violations of the Act.  Ali is the owner of two jewelry stores, Gallery 8 and Galleria Azul, in Albuquerque’s Old Town that purport to specialize in the sale of Native American jewelry.  Bowen was formerly employed as a store manager by Ali.  Manasra holds himself out as a wholesaler of Native American jewelry. 

Ali was arrested in Albuquerque yesterday and Bowen surrendered to the U.S. Marshals Service this morning.  Both made their initial appearances in federal court in Albuquerque this morning and were released pending trial.  Manasra was arrested yesterday in La Habra, California, and will be transferred to the District of New Mexico to face the charges against him.  If convicted of the charges against them, the defendants each face a statutory maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000.00 fine.  Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

During yesterday’s law enforcement operation and as part of the continuing investigation, federal agents executed 15 search warrants in New Mexico and one in California.  Eight of the search warrants were executed in Albuquerque including four at retail and wholesale jewelry businesses.  In addition, search warrants were executed at three jewelry stores in Gallup, three jewelry stores in Santa Fe and a jewelry production shop in Zuni.  Federal agents also executed a search warrant at a jewelry store in Calistoga, California.  Three federal seizure warrants also were executed on bank accounts in a Charlotte, North Carolina, bank and a San Francisco, California, bank.  In addition, the Philippines National Bureau of Investigations conducted a series of investigative interviews at two factories in Cebu City, Philippines.            

The case was investigated by the Office of Law Enforcement for the Southwest Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with assistance from the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Marshals Service, DEA and New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement for Region Eight and California Department of Fish and Wildlife provided support in Calistoga, California, and HSI provided support in La Habra, California.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Attaché for Southeast Asia and the Philippine National Bureau of Investigations provided support in Cebu City, Philippines.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristopher N. Houghton is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Three New Mexicans have been charged with violating the Indian Arts and Crafts Act (IACA) by conspiring to import and fraudulently sell Filipino-made jewelry as Native American-made.  The indictment charging the three defendants is the result of an ongoing federal investigation led by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service into an international scheme to violate the IACA that included a law enforcement operation yesterday during which 16 search warrants were executed in New Mexico and California and related investigative activity took place in the Philippines.

The IACA prohibits the offer or display for sale, or the sale of any good in a manner that falsely suggests that it is Indian produced, an Indian product, or the product of a particular Indian and Indian tribe.  The law is designed to prevent products from being marketed as “Indian made,” when the products are not, in fact, made by Indians.  It covers all Indian and Indian-style traditional and contemporary arts and crafts produced after 1935, and broadly applies to the marketing of arts and crafts by any person in the United States.  IACA provides critical economic benefits for Native American cultural development by recognizing that forgery and fraudulent Indian arts and crafts diminish the livelihood of Native American artists and craftspeople by lowering both market prices and standards.

“American Indian and Alaska Native people have contributed tremendously to the cultural and artistic heritage of our nation and they have an important future that must be protected,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Stuart F. Delery.  “This case demonstrates our willingness to prosecute those who falsely market products as ‘Indian Made’ and thus undermine the livelihoods of Native American artists and craftspeople, many of whom are responsible for carrying precious spiritual and artistic knowledge from one generation to another.”

“The indictment announced today and yesterday’s enforcement operation are not only about enforcing the law but also about protecting and preserving the cultural heritage of Native Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez.  “The cultural heritage of American Indians is a precious national resource and it is critically important that we provide the proper respect to those whose creations are seen by some as simple retail commodities to be exploited for profit.”

“As Chairman of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, U.S. Department of the Interior, I want to convey the Board’s deep appreciation for the outstanding leadership and contributions provided by the U.S Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, along with the other agency partners who participated in bringing this landmark enforcement action under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act,” said Chairman Harvey Pratt of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board.  “By requiring truth-in-marketing of Indian art and craftwork, the Act is intended to protect Native American artists and artisans who rely heavily on the production and sale of traditional and contemporary art and craftworks to provide their economic livelihood, preserve their rich heritage, and pass along their unique culture from generation to generation.  Unfair competition from counterfeit Native American art and craftwork seriously erodes the sustainability, vitality, and economic well-being of Indian tribes and their members and businesses.  The Act is also intended to protect the consumers who purchase Native American art, bringing much needed financial resources to Indian communities in the Southwest and across the country.   Eliminating the flow of counterfeit Native American art and craftwork provides a level playing field for the highly talented, dedicated, and hard-working producers of genuine Native American art.  We must protect these authentic American Treasures.”

“Under our 2012 cooperative agreement with the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has investigated numerous potential violations of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act,” said Nicholas E. Chavez, Special Agent in Charge for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement for the Southwest Region.  “Our investigations primarily have focused on identifying fraudulent schemes where jewelry is marketed and sold as authentic Native American adornments to defraud tourists and other consumers.  Through these investigations, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service endeavors to protect and preserve the authenticity of jewelry produced by our country’s Native American artisans.”

The four-count indictment that was unsealed earlier today charges Nael Ali, 51, and Mohammad Abed Manasra, 53, both of Albuquerque, N.M., and Christina Bowen, 41, of Los Lunas, N.M., with conspiracy to violate IACA and three substantive violations of the Act.  Ali is the owner of two jewelry stores, Gallery 8 and Galleria Azul, in Albuquerque’s Old Town that purport to specialize in the sale of Native American jewelry.  Bowen was formerly employed as a store manager by Ali.  Manasra holds himself out as a wholesaler of Native American jewelry.

Ali was arrested in Albuquerque yesterday and Bowen surrendered to the U.S. Marshals Service this morning.  Both made their initial appearances in federal court in Albuquerque this morning and were released pending trial.  Manasra was arrested yesterday in La Habra, Calif., and will be transferred to the District of New Mexico to face the charges against him.  If convicted of the charges against them, the defendants each face a statutory maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000.00 fine.  Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

During yesterday’s law enforcement operation and as part of the continuing investigation, federal agents executed 15 search warrants in New Mexico and one in California.  Eight of the search warrants were executed in Albuquerque including four at retail and wholesale jewelry businesses.  In addition, search warrants were executed at three jewelry stores in Gallup, three jewelry stores in Santa Fe, and a jewelry production shop in Zuni.  Federal agents also executed a search warrant at a jewelry store in Calistoga, Calif.  Three federal seizure warrants also were executed on bank accounts in a Charlotte, N.C., bank and a San Francisco, Calif., bank.  In addition, the Philippines National Bureau of Investigations conducted a series of investigative interviews at two factories in Cebu City, Philippines.

The case was investigated by the Office of Law Enforcement for the Southwest Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with assistance from the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Marshals Service, DEA and New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement for Region Eight and California Department of Fish and Wildlife provided support in Calistoga, Calif., and HSI provided support in La Habra, Calif.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Attaché for Southeast Asia and the Philippine National Bureau of Investigations provided support in Cebu City, Philippines.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristopher N. Houghton is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez released the following statement regarding the death of Albuquerque Police Officer Daniel Webster:

“We were deeply saddened to learn that Officer Daniel Webster did not survive the senseless act of violence he suffered in the line of duty on the evening of October 21, 2015.  We offer our deepest condolences to Michelle Carlino-Webster, the widow of this fallen hero, and the rest of his family and loved ones, and we condemn the despicable act that took Officer Webster from us in the strongest possible terms.

“Officer Webster was a dedicated law enforcement officer and a true patriot who served his country in the U.S. Army for 20 years.  He leaves behind an enduring legacy that will live on in the lives he touched; in the work that the men and women of the Albuquerque Police Department continue to perform; and in a city and world that are safer because of his devoted service.  His loss underscores the real dangers that are routinely faced by those who protect and serve their fellow citizens, and will be a constant reminder 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 Webster’s family and loved ones during this very difficult time.  As we go forward, the Justice Department will honor Officer Webster’s service and his sacrifice by fighting for the values he protected every day, and by safeguarding the community for which he gave his life.”

ALBUQUERQUE – Michelle Smith, 33, of Farmington, N.M., was sentenced this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for committing wire fraud in furtherance of a scheme to defraud insurance companies.  Smith also was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $324,239.00, which represents a portion of the profit she derived from her criminal activity.

Smith was charged in Feb. 2014, in an indictment that included 14 counts of wire fraud and four counts of aggravated identity theft.  The charges arose out of Smith’s scheme to defraud Allstate Workplace Division and American Heritage Life Insurance (Allstate) of approximately $324,239.00 in advance commissions by submitting fraudulent policy enrollments.  At the time of the offenses charged in the indictment, Smith was employed by Wells Insurance Agencies (Wells), exclusive brokers for Allstate with offices in Farmington, as an insurance agent to sell Allstate insurance policies.

According to the indictment, Allstate paid its brokers a commission for each Allstate insurance policy the broker sold.  When Allstate received a new policy enrollment, Allstate paid the broker an advance commission amounting to a percentage of six months’ work of premiums on the policy.  If the enrollee canceled the policy or fails to pay premiums for six months, the broker was required to return the advance commission to Allstate.  When Smith was employed by Wells, Wells paid Smith 70% of the advance commissions she generated by submitting Allstate insurance policy enrollments.

The indictment alleged that from Aug. 2009 through May 2010, Smith devised and engaged in a scheme to defraud Allstate and Wells by submitting fraudulent policy enrollments and obtaining advance commissions to which she was not entitled.  During the ten month period, Smith submitted enrollments in the names of approximately 150 different enrollees for a total of approximately 505 Allstate insurance policy enrollments.  The enrollment forms transmitted electronically to Allstate by Smith were in the names of individuals who had not purchased insurance from Allstate and had forged signatures.

On April 23, 2015, Smith pled guilty to Count 13, a wire fraud charge, of the Indictment and admitted that between Nov. 2009 and April 2010, she devised a scheme to fraudulently obtain advance commission payments from Allstate and Wells.  She further admitted facilitating the scheme by submitting 505 insurance policy enrollments to Allstate, all of which were fraudulent because none of the persons listed on the enrollment forms had agreed to purchase insurance policies from Allstate.  Smith acknowledged that as a result of her fraudulent scheme, Allstate issued approximately $324,239.00 in advance commission payments and that she personally received at least $128,371.00 of those payments.

This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Peña.

ALBUQUERQUE – McQuade Quintana, 29, of Dulce, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 22 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).  Quintana will also be required to register as a sex offender following his term of incarceration.  The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and U.S. Marshall 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.

Quintana was arrested on Nov. 25, 2014, on a criminal complaint charging him with violating SORNA by failing to update his sex offender registration.  On Dec. 16, 2014, Quintana was indicted for failing to update his registration between Oct. 10, 2014 and Nov. 25, 2014, in Bernalillo County, N.M.

According to court filings, Quintana was convicted of aggravated sexual abuse of a child in Jan. 2006.  On Sept 30, 2010, Quintana 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.  Quintana last registered as a sex offender on March 16, 2011, in Rio Arriba County, and subsequently failed to notify the New Mexico Department of Public Safety or the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office that he had moved or to update his sex offender registration as required by SORNA.

On June 18, 2015, Quintana pled guilty to a felony information and admitted that between Oct. 10, 2014 and Nov. 25, 2014, he failed to register as a sex offender in Bernalillo County.  Quintana also admitted that on Sept. 5, 2014, he was approved to reside at a residential reentry program in Albuquerque by the U.S. Probation Office and that he left the program without permission on Oct. 10, 2014.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback 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.

ALBUQUERQUE – Gary Nicholas Allen, 30, of Carlsbad, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to a methamphetamine trafficking charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Allen was arrested on June 23, 2015, on a criminal complaint alleging that he possessed methamphetamine with intent to distribute in Eddy County, N.M., on April 8, 2015.  According to the complaint, Pecos Valley Drug Task Force agents executed a search warrant at a residence in Carlsbad where they seized $3,284.00 in cash, approximately 40 gross grams of methamphetamine, a loaded semi-automatic firearm, and drug paraphernalia.

Allen was subsequently indicted on Sept. 16, 2015, and charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on April 8, 2015, in Eddy County.

During today’s proceedings, Allen pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on April 8, 2015, he possessed approximately 33 grams of methamphetamine which he planned to distribute to others.  Allen further admitted that a loaded semi-automatic firearm was also found in his residence.

At sentencing, Allen faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in federal prison followed by not less than three years of supervised release.  He remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA and the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark A. Saltman of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting this case.

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Judith Ann Sanchez, 60, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to three years of probation for her theft of government property conviction.  Sanchez was also ordered to pay $384,579.11 in restitution to the Social Security Administration (SSA) which represents the money she fraudulently obtained from the SSA.

Sanchez pled guilty on May 5, 2015, to a felony information charging her with theft of government property.  In entering the guilty plea, Sanchez admitted that from Oct. 1, 1990 through April 2012, she embezzled money from SSA in the form of Supplemental Security Income Program benefits, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits and Medicaid benefits.  Sanchez admitted she received payments from these programs in the total amount of $384,579.11 to which she was not entitled.

This case was investigated by the Social Security Administration and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S Attorney Paul Mysliwiec.

ALBUQUERQUE – U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Chairman Harvey Pratt of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board and Special Agent in Charge Nicholas E. Chavez of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement for the Southwest Region, will hold a press conference at 1:00 P.M. on THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2015, to announce a significant law enforcement action relating to an Indian Arts and Crafts Act investigation.

WHO:             U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Chairman Harvey Pratt of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, Special Agent in Charge Nicholas E. Chavez, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement for the Southwest Region

WHEN:          THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2015, 1:00 p.m. MDT

 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. (such as a driver’s license) as well as valid media credentials (which must be worn around the neck or pinned to clothing at all times).  Media may begin to arrive at 12:45 p.m. MDT. Inquiries regarding logistics should be directed to Alyssa Ferda at 505-224-1480 or alyssa.ferda@usdoj.gov.

ALBUQUERQUE – Jose Velasquez, 29, a resident of San Juan County, N.M., was arraigned this morning in federal court on an indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.   Velasquez entered a not guilty plea and remains in federal custody pending trial.

The federal charge against Velasquez 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 Eden, Jr., of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD).

Velasquez was arrested on state charges on Aug. 4, 2015, and subsequently was charged in a federal criminal complaint on Aug. 17, 2015, with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  According to the criminal complaint, Velasquez was arrested on state charges by APD officers after they observed him walking near the area of Sunshine Terrace SE and University Blvd. SE in Albuquerque while allegedly armed with a handgun.  According to court filings, the officers allegedly found a semiautomatic pistol, ammunition and a small quantity of heroin in Velasquez’s pants pocket.

Thereafter, Velasquez was charged in an indictment on Sept. 10, 2015, with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on Aug. 4, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M.  According to the indictment, Velasquez was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of armed robbery with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery on a peace officer in state court in San Juan County, N.M.

Velasquez was held in state custody on related state charges until he was transferred to federal custody to face the charges in the federal indictment.  The state charges have been dismissed in favor of federal prosecution.  If convicted of the charge in the indictment, Velasquez faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in prison.  Charges in complaints and indictments are merely accusations and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless convicted in a court of law.

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 is prosecuting the case as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution.  Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders 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 – Jorge Carillo, 34, of Las Cruces N.M., was sentenced today in Las Cruces federal court to five years in federal prison followed by four years of supervised release for heroin trafficking and firearms charges in connection with five cases filed in 2013, as the result of a multi-agency investigation into drug trafficking in Doña Ana County, N.M.

Carillo, together with a Mexican national and 19 other Las Cruces residents, were charged with heroin trafficking offenses in five indictments filed in Nov. 2013, as a result of a multi-agency investigation led by the FBI that targeted the heroin trafficking activities of Jovita Belmonte-Gonzalez in Doña Ana County.  Belmonte-Gonzales, 46, a Mexican national from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, was named as the lead defendant in four of five indictments which charged her with supplying heroin to five drug trafficking organizations that distributed heroin in Doña Ana County.

The lead defendant, Belmonte-Gonzalez, pled guilty to heroin trafficking charges in four of the five cases in June 2014, and admitted conducting frequent heroin transactions with her co-defendants between June 2013 and Oct. 2013.  Court records reflect that Belmonte-Gonzalez typically negotiated heroin sales by telephone from Juarez and her co-defendants traveled from Doña Ana County to Juarez where they purchased the heroin from her and later distributed the drugs in Doña Ana County.  Belmonte-Gonzales faces a mandatory minimum of ten years in prison and a maximum of life in prison, and will be deported after she completes her prison sentence.  She remains in federal custody pending her sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

On Oct. 7, 2014, Carillo pled guilty to conspiracy, being a felon in possession of a firearm on June 27, 2013, in Doña Ana County and being a felon in possession of a firearm on Nov. 15, 2013, in Doña Ana County.  Carillo was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of residential burglary and unlawful taking of a motor vehicle.

All 21 of the defendants arrested as a result of the investigation have entered guilty pleas. Eighteen defendants have been sentenced, and the rest are currently awaiting sentencing hearings.

These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney E. Garreth Winstead, III, of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.  The investigation leading to the charges in the four cases was led by the Las Cruces office of the FBI in collaboration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Border Patrol, the Las Cruces office of the DEA, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Las Cruces Police Department and the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office.

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

This case is being prosecuted pursuant to the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative.  The HOPE Initiative is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center that is partnering with the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative with the overriding goal of reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in the District of New Mexico.  The HOPE Initiative comprised of five components:  (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning.  The law enforcement component of the HOPE Initiative 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 trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative.

ALBUQUERQUE – Quincy Coriz, 39, a member and resident of Kewa Pueblo, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 24 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for abusive sexual contact of a child under the age of 16.  Coriz will be required to register as a sex offender after completing his prison sentence.

Coriz was arrested on March 11, 2015, on an indictment charging him with abusive sexual contact in summer 2013, in Indian Country in Sandoval County, N.M.

On May 7, 2015, Coriz pled guilty to the indictment and admitted to sexually assaulting the victim, by making sexual contact with the victim over the clothing.  The victim is a tribal member who was under the age of 16 but over the age of 12.

This case was investigated by the BIA’s office of Justice Services.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Adams 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 – Pablo Rocha, 34, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 151 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction.

Rocha was arrested in Aug. 2013, and co-defendants Tony Daugherty, 47, also of Albuquerque, and Danielle McKee, 25, and Wilson Smith, 47, both of Alamogordo, N.M., were charged on Aug. 27, 2013, in an indictment charging them with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.  The indictment alleged that the conspiracy existed from July 30, 2013 through Aug. 7, 2013, in Otero and Bernalillo Counties, N.M.

The indictment was superseded on Dec. 17, 2013, to add Fabian Jaquez-Lazo, 25, a Mexican national residing in Albuquerque, as a defendant.  In addition to charging all four defendants with participation in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy, the superseding indictment also included four substantive counts charging the defendants with distributing methamphetamine in Bernalillo and Otero Counties.

On April 10, 2014, Rocha plead guilty to the superseding indictment and admitted that on July 31, 2013, he and his co-conspirators distributed 84.1 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover agent in Bernalillo County.  Rocha also admitted they distributed 120.2 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover agent on Aug. 7, 2013, in Otero County.  He also admitted that he and Daugherty distributed 16u grams of methamphetamine to an undercover agent in Bernalillo County on Aug. 15, 2013, and that on Aug. 29, 2013 he, Daugherty and Jaquez-Lazo distributed 201.2 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover agent.

On April 3, 2014, Jaquez-Lazo pled guilty to the conspiracy count and a distribution count of the superseding indictment.  The next day, Daugherty pled guilty to all counts of the superseding indictment against him.  On April 10, 2014, Smith pled guilty to the conspiracy count and two distribution counts of the superseding indictment.  All three men remain in custody pending sentencing hearings.

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

The HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of officers from the Las Cruces Police Department, the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, HSI and the New Mexico State Police.  The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.  HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.

ALBUQUERQUE – Vincent Ortiz, 45, a member and resident of San Felipe Pueblo, was sentenced this morning in federal court in Santa Fe, N.M., to 50 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his sexual abuse conviction.  Ortiz will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.

Ortiz was arrested in July 2014, on an indictment charging him with sexual abuse and assault with a dangerous weapon.  According to court filings, on July 5, 2014, Ortiz sexually assaulted a Kewa Pueblo woman and assaulted a San Felipe Pueblo man in San Felipe Pueblo in Sandoval County, N.M.

On Oct. 23, 2014, Ortiz entered a guilty plea to Count 1 of the indictment, charging him with sexual abuse.  In entering the guilty plea, Ortiz admitted sexually abusing the victim on July 5, 2014, by engaging in a sexual act with the victim who at the time was incapable or unable to decline participation in the act.

This case was investigated by the Southern Pueblos Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Adams.

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 – A previously deported felon from Mexico was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 120 months in federal prison for his conviction for unlawfully reentering the United States.  He will be deported after completing his prison sentence.

Roman Enrique Delgado-Montoya, 54, of Veracruz, Mexico, was charged on June 2, 2014, in a criminal complaint with illegally reentering the United States after having been convicted of an aggravated felony.  Delgado-Montoya had previously been deported from the United States on Feb. 10, 2014, after he was convicted in Sept. 2009, of Arson in Calif.

Delgado-Montoya was subsequently indicted on Jan. 14, 2015, and charged with unlawful reentry into the United States.  Delgado-Montoya committed the offense in Sunland Park, Doña Ana County, N.M.  On May 22, 2015, Delgado-Montoya pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement.

Court proceedings revealed that, over the years, Delgado-Montoya has used at least 39 aliases and has at least 17 prior criminal convictions.  He also has been arrested on at least 20 other occasions in cases which have either been dismissed or for which there is no information as to disposition.  Delgado-Montoya’s prior convictions include vehicle theft, tampering with a vehicle, multiple burglaries, receiving stolen property, possession of burglary tools, cocaine distribution, possession of narcotics, falsely claiming U.S. citizenship, vehicle theft, being an aggravated felon receiving stolen property, arson and illegal entry into the United States.

This case was investigated by the Doña Ana station of the U.S. Border Patrol.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brock Taylor, Edwin Garreth Winstead, III, and Luis A. Martinez of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office 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 under this initiative.

ALBUQUERQUE – Anthony Riley, 38, was sentenced this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 13 months in prison to be followed by five months of residential treatment for his domestic assault by a habitual offender conviction.  Thereafter, Riley will be on supervised release for a period of three years.

 Riley, a member and resident of Laguna Pueblo, N.M., was arrested on May 1, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with domestic assault of an intimate partner by a habitual offender on March 4, 2015, in Indian Country in Cibola County, N.M.  According to the criminal complaint, Riley was charged as a habitual offender based on his two prior domestic violence convictions in Laguna Tribal Court.         Laguna Tribal Court records reflect that Riley’s prior convictions occurred in 2005 and 2009, and that the victim in those two incidents was Riley’s intimate partner.  Riley was subsequently indicted on the same charge on May 28, 2015.

On July 21, 2015, Riley pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on March 4, 2015, he assaulted the victim, his intimate partner by striking her in the head and face with his fists.  He also acknowledged his prior tribal court domestic violence convictions.

This case was investigated by the Laguna Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Pueblo of Laguna 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 – Christian Quintana, 20, an enrolled member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation who resides in Dulce, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a federal assault charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Quintana was arrested on March 2, 2015, on an indictment charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  The crimes charged in the indictment took place on July 19, 2014, in Indian Country in Rio Arriba County, N.M.

During today’s hearing, Quintana pled guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon and admitted that on July 19, 2014, during a physical confrontation with the victim, he pulled a knife out of his pocket and stabbed the victim twice.  Quintana further admitted that as a result of the stabbing, the victim sustained a punctured lung that required surgery to repair.

Under the terms of his plea agreement, Quintana will be sentenced to a maximum of 24 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.  Quintana is in federal custody pending a sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Jicarilla Apache Tribal Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Adams.

ALBUQUERQUE – Ahmed Abder-Rahman, 25, of Gallup, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a misdemeanor charge of theft of government property.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, Abder-Rahman will be sentenced to a term of probation and ordered to pay $10, 242.00 in restitution to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), the victim of his criminal conduct.

Abder-Rahman was arrested on June 18, 2015, on an indictment charging him with theft of government property and theft of money orders.  According to the indictment, Abder-Rahman stole 13 money orders with a total value of $10,242.00 from the Yatahey Contract Postal Unit (CPU) of the USPS from April 30, 2014 through May 12, 2014, in McKinley County, N.M.  At the time the crimes were committed, Abder-Rahman was employed by the Yatahey CPU.

During today’s plea hearing, Abder-Rahman pled guilty to a misdemeanor information charging him with theft of government property.  In entering his guilty plea, Abder-Rahman admitted that he had access to USPS funds, supplies and equipment at the Yatahey CPU, and fraudulently negotiated money orders in the aggregate amount of $10,242.00 in April and May 2014, without having received the money payable on the money orders.  Court records reflect that Abder-Rahman used some of the money to pay off personal debts.   

A sentencing hearing for Abder-Rahman has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elaine Y. Ramirez.

ALBUQUERQUE – This morning a U.S. District Court Judge sitting in Las Cruces, N.M., sentenced Jessie Hopper, Sr., 55, and Polly Hopper, 61, of Deming, N.M., to lengthy prison terms for their convictions on conspiracy, kidnapping and firearms charges.  Hopper, Sr. was sentenced to 366 months (30.5 years) in prison followed by five years of supervised release, while his sister, Polly Hopper, was sentenced to 292 months (24.3 years) in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

The sentences imposed on the Hoppers were announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, 6th Judicial District Attorney Francesca Martinez-Estevez, Special Agent Carol K.O. Lee of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI, Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry of the Phoenix Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, New Mexico State Police Chief Pete Kassetas and Luna County Sheriff Jonathon Mooradian.

 “Jessie Hopper, Sr., and Polly Hopper, were both prosecuted under the federal ‘worst of the worst’ anti-violence initiative because of their extensive prior criminal histories, which included convictions for attempted murder, and the despicable nature of the violent crimes they were convicted of in this case,” said U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez.  “Through this initiative, the federal law enforcement community is working with its state, local and tribal partners to make New Mexico safer by taking violent and repeat offenders like the Hoppers off our streets for as long as possible.”

“The 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office is proud of its role in bringing about the sentencings imposed today on Jessie Hopper, Sr., and Polly Hopper,” said 6th Judicial District Attorney Francesca Martinez-Estevez.  “Prosecutors from my office worked closely with local, county and state law enforcement officers to preserve the crime scene and gather the evidence that supported the federal convictions in this case, and our victim advocates supported the victim and her family in the aftermath of the victim’s traumatic experience.  Working together with our partners at the FBI, ATF and U.S. Attorney’s Office, we were able to bring justice to the victim.”

“Today’s sentencings send a strong message the FBI and its law enforcement partners will aggressively investigate and prosecute violent crime,” said Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division.   “The FBI would like to thank the U.S. Attorney's Office and the other federal, state and local agencies that worked closely together and made the successful resolution of this case possible.”

Hopper, Sr., Polly Hopper, and their co-defendant Jessie A. Hopper, Jr., 30, also of Deming, were arrested in June 2014, on a federal criminal complaint charging them with kidnapping and firearms charges.  The three defendants subsequently were charged with conspiracy and kidnapping in a six-count indictment filed in May. 2014.  The indictment also charged Hopper, Sr., and Hopper Jr., with brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, being felons in possession of firearms, and unlawfully possessing a sawed-off shotgun.

Hopper, Jr., entered a guilty plea to the five charges against him on Nov. 21, 2014.  At sentencing, he faces a maximum of life imprisonment on the kidnapping charges as well as a seven-year prison sentence for brandishing a firearm that must be served consecutive to any sentence imposed on the kidnapping charges.  Hopper, Jr., remains in federal custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

On Feb. 27, 2015, a federal jury returned a verdict finding Hopper, Sr., and Polly Hopper guilty on all charges against them after a five-day trial.  The evidence at trial established that Hopper, Jr., and Hopper, Sr., kidnapped the victim in Hot Springs, Ark., on May 8, 2014, with the assistance of Polly Hopper.  Hopper, Jr., handcuffed the victim and a firearm was brandished at the victim to force her to comply with Hopper, Jr.’s demands, including a demand that she telephone family members to assure them that she was voluntarily leaving Arkansas with Hopper, Jr.  On May 8 and 9, 2014, the defendants drove the victim from Arkansas to the defendants’ residence in Deming, where Hopper, Jr., and Hopper Sr., sexually assaulted the victim several times.

The three defendants initially were arrested by the New Mexico State Police on state charges on May 10, 2014.   They remained in state custody until they were transferred to federal custody on May 16, 2014, to face the charges in this federal case.  The state charges, which were filed by the 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office for the State of New Mexico, were dismissed in favor of federal prosecution.

ATF Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry said, “Taking violent criminals off the streets and putting them behind bars has always been a focus of ATF and our enforcement mission in New Mexico.   I commend the agents and officers who repeatedly risked their lives to remove these violent offenders from our communities.   I also wish to recognize the leadership of U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and his office in their relentless prosecution of these violent offenders.”

“The cooperative effort between law enforcement agencies has made our communities safer,” said New Mexico State Police Chief Pete Kassetas.  “This case is a great example of how local, state and federal law enforcement agencies are working with State District Attorneys and the U.S. Attorney to prosecute violent criminals.  I cannot express my gratitude enough to all the agencies involved.”

“It is always encouraging when local, state and federal law enforcement partners work together for the good of our communities,” said Luna County Sheriff John Mooradian.  “When we share resources and intelligence, we truly get the upper hand on the criminal element.  My hope now is that the victim in this case was able to get the help and support necessary to move beyond this ordeal.”

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI, the Las Cruces office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the New Mexico State Police and the Luna County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office for the State of New Mexico.  The FBI in Little Rock, Ark., the Garland County (Arkansas) Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Arkansas also assisted in the investigation.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Randy M. Castellano and Maria Y. Armijo of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

The case against the Hoppers is being prosecuted as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders based primarily on their criminal histories 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 Luna County under this initiative.

ALBUQUERQUE – Annais Moreno, 34, of Phoenix, Ariz., pleaded guilty today to heroin trafficking charges in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Moreno and co-defendant Fabiola Soriano-Tlapanco, 26, also of Phoenix, were arrested in May 2015, on a criminal complaint charging them with conspiracy and possession of heroin with intent to distribute after DEA agents allegedly found almost four kilograms of heroin concealed in their baggage during an interdiction investigation at the Greyhound Bus Station in Albuquerque, on May 16, 2015.   The duo were indicted on the same charges on June 9, 2015.

During today’s proceedings, Moreno pled guilty to a felony information charging her with possession of heroin with intent to distribute.  Moreno admitted that on May 16, 2015, she and Soriano-Tlapanco transported 3.95 kilograms of heroin while traveling through Albuquerque on the Greyhound Bus.  Moreno further admitted that she was transporting the heroin from Glendale, Ariz. to Denver, Colo.

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

Soriano-Tlapanco entered a not guilty plea to the indictment and is currently scheduled for trial in Dec. 2015.  Charges in criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated by the Interdiction Unit of the DEA’s Albuquerque office which focuses on disrupting the flow of narcotics, weapons, and the proceeds of illegal activities as they are smuggled into or through New Mexico in passenger buses, passenger trains, commercial vehicles and automobiles.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Brawley is prosecuting the case.

This case is being prosecuted pursuant to the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative.  The HOPE Initiative is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center that is partnering with the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative with the overriding goal of reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in the District of New Mexico.  The HOPE Initiative comprised of five components:  (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning.  The law enforcement component of the HOPE Initiative 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 trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative.

ALBUQUERQUE – This morning the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) filed a criminal complaint charging Albuquerque resident Davon Lymon, 34, with a violation of the federal firearms laws.  The federal charge against Lymon was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry of the Phoenix Field Division of ATF, Chief Gorden Eden, Jr., of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD), Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI, U.S. Marshal Conrad E. Candelaria, New Mexico State Police Chief Pete N. Kassetas, Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales, III, Chief Michael Geier of the Rio Rancho Police Department, and Chief Jimmy Glascock of the New Mexico Transportation Police Division.

The federal charge against Lymon, 34, a resident of Albuquerque, N.M., arises out of a traffic stop by an APD officer on the evening of Oct. 21, 2015, in southeast Albuquerque, during which Lymon allegedly fired six rounds at the APD officer as the officer attempted to handcuff Lymon.  Several rounds struck the APD officer, including one that struck the officer in the face near the chin.  The APD officer was transported to a local hospital for treatment where he remains in critical condition.

According to the criminal complaint, on Oct. 21, 2015, the APD officer executed a traffic stop on a motorcycle being operated by Lymon which allegedly bore a stolen license plate.  As the APD officer approached Lymon and the motorcycle, he spoke to Lymon who allegedly failed to comply with the officer’s orders.  The complaint alleges that, when the APD officer attempted to detain and handcuff Lymon, Lymon drew a firearm and shot the officer.  Lymon then fled from the scene; he was arrested last night when law enforcement officers and canines found him hiding in a shed with a handcuff still attached to one of his wrists.  Lymon was transported to a local hospital where he is being treated for injuries sustained as a result of the canine apprehension.  He will be taken into federal custody upon discharge from the hospital.

During last night’s investigation, law enforcement officers recovered six cartridges in the area in which the APD officer was shot.  They also recovered a semiautomatic pistol from a vacant lot in the area Lymon allegedly fled towards as he left the scene of the shooting.

Lymon was prohibited from possessing either firearms or ammunition on Oct. 21, 2015, because he previously has been convicted of felony offenses in two state court cases.  Lymon’s crimes of conviction include voluntary manslaughter, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon resulting in great bodily harm, fraud and forgery.   

If convicted of the crime charged in the criminal complaint, Lymon faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison.  Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations.  All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

 This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of ATF, APD, the Albuquerque office of the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the New Mexico State Police, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, the Rio Rancho Police Department and the New Mexico Transportation Police Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob A. Wishard is 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.  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.

lymon_complaint.pdf (199.69 KB)

ALBUQUERQUE – Anthony Calderon, 41, of Las Cruces, N.M., was sentenced this morning in federal court in Las Cruces to 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his heroin and methamphetamine trafficking convictions.

Calderon was arrested on Aug. 8, 2014, in Las Cruces on an indictment charging him with two counts of distributing heroin and one count of distributing methamphetamine in Doña Ana County, N.M.  The indictment also charged Calderon’s co-defendant Orlando Roman, 35, also of Las Cruces, with one count of heroin distribution.  Roman was arrested on Oct. 9, 2014.

On March 5, 2015, Calderon pled guilty to all three counts of the indictment and admitted that on April 15 and April 16, 2014, he distributed approximately 75.3 grams of heroin to a person working under the supervision of law enforcement.  Calderon also admitted that on May 27, 2014, he distributed approximately 101.1 grams of methamphetamine to a person working under the supervision of law enforcement.

Co-defendant Roman pled guilty on March 6, 2015, to one count of distribution of heroin.  Roman was sentenced on July 22, 2015, to eight months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.

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

The HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of officers from the Las Cruces Police Department, the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, HSI and the New Mexico State Police.  The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.  HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.

This case is being prosecuted pursuant to the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative.  The HOPE Initiative is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center that is partnering with the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative with the overriding goal of reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in the District of New Mexico.  The HOPE Initiative comprised of five components:  (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning.  The law enforcement component of the HOPE Initiative 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 trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative.

ALBUQUERQUE – Mario Gomez, 29, a former resident of Albuquerque, N.M., who now resides in Denver, Colo., entered a guilty plea today in federal court to cocaine trafficking charges.  The guilty plea was entered pursuant to a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Gomez was arrested in Jan. 2015, and charged along with co-defendants Erasmo Alamilla, 32, also of Albuquerque, and Janelle Montes, 34, of Rio Rancho, N.M., in a nine-count indictment alleging cocaine trafficking offenses committed in Bernalillo County, N.M.  The indictment charged the defendants as follows:  (1) Gomez, Alamilla and Montes with conspiracy to distribute cocaine from June 11, 2014 through Oct. 6, 2014; (2) Gomez and Alamilla with distribution of cocaine on June 11, 2014; (3) Gomez and Alamilla with distribution of cocaine on July 7, 2014; (4) Montes and Alamilla with distribution of cocaine on Aug. 7, 2014; (5) Montes and Alamilla with distribution of cocaine on Sept. 12, 2014; (6) Alamilla with possession of cocaine within a vehicle he was operating with intent to distribute on Oct. 6, 2014; (7) Alamilla with possession of cocaine within a residence with intent to distribute on Oct. 6, 2014; (8) Alamilla and Gomez with the use of a communication facility, a telephone, in the commission of a drug trafficking crime on Aug. 25, 2014; and (9) Alamilla and Montes with the use of a communication facility, a telephone, in the commission of a drug trafficking crime on Sept. 12, 2014.  The indictment also called for the forfeiture of $26,034.00 by Gomez, Alamilla and Montes as the proceeds of their drug trafficking activities.

During today’s plea hearing, Gomez pled guilty to Counts 1, 2, 3 and 8 of the indictment.  Gomez admitted that on June 11, 2014, he sold 282 grams of cocaine that he obtained from Alamilla to another individual, on July 6, 2014, he sold 283.6 grams of cocaine that he obtained from Alamilla to another individual and on Aug. 25, 2014, he communicated by telephone with Alamilla to discuss Alamilla supplying Gomez with additional cocaine to sell to others.  Gomez further admitted that he withdrew from the cocaine trafficking conspiracy on Aug. 31, 2014.

Alamilla pled guilty on May 13, 2015, to Counts 1 through 5, 8 and 9 of the indictment, and admitted supplying Gomez and Montes with amounts of cocaine to sell to others from June 11, 2014 through Oct. 6, 2014.  Montes pled guilty on Sept. 21, 2015, to Counts 1, 4, 5 and 9 of the indictment, and admitted to selling amounts of cocaine to others that she had obtained from Alamilla.  Montes further admitted communicating on a telephone with Alamilla regarding the supply of cocaine to Montes.

At sentencing, Gomez and Montes each face a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison followed by not less than three years of supervised release.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, Alamilla will be sentenced to 46 months in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.  All three co-defendants will be ordered to forfeit $21,100.00 jointly to the court as the proceeds of their drug trafficking activities.  Sentencing hearings have yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shaheen P. Torgoley.

ALBUQUERQUE – Oscar Toro, 43, of Fremont, Calif., pled guilty yesterday in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a methamphetamine trafficking charge.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, Toro will be sentenced to 57 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

Toro was charged in March 2014, on a criminal complaint alleging that he possessed methamphetamine with intent to distribute on March 4, 2014, in Bernalillo County, N.M.  According to the complaint, Toro was arrested after law enforcement seized approximately 3.4 kilograms of methamphetamine from a hidden compartment underneath Toro’s vehicle.

Toro was subsequently indicted on March 26, 2014, and charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

During yesterday’s proceedings, Toro pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on March 4, 2014, law enforcement officers found 3,415 grams of methamphetamine in a hidden compartment in his vehicle.  Toro further admitted that he was given $1,000.00 to drive the methamphetamine from Calif. to Ky., and would later receive another $5,000.00.

Toro is in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Rumaldo Armijo is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Joshua Abeyta, 22, of Rio Rancho, N.M., made his initial appearance in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., this morning on a criminal complaint charging him with bank robbery.  Abeyta remains in custody pending a preliminary hearing and a detention hearing both of which are scheduled for tomorrow morning.

Abeyta was arrested yesterday on a criminal complaint charging him with robbing the Santa Fe Federal Credit Bank located at 7101 Jefferson St. NE in Albuquerque, earlier in the day.  The complaint alleges that Abeyta robbed the bank by handing a handwritten note with a robbery demand to a bank teller.  The teller complied with Abeyta’s written and verbal robbery demands and handed money over to Abeyta.  Abeyta left the scene on foot and was pursued by customers of the bank before being arrested by an Albuquerque Police Department officer.

If convicted of the crime charged in the criminal complaint, Abeyta faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.  Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations.  All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Kevin Hawkins, 50, of San Bernardino, Calif., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a methamphetamine trafficking charge.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, Hawkins will be sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

Hawkins was arrested on Sept. 23, 2015, at the Amtrak Train Station in Albuquerque after DEA agents found approximately 300 grams of methamphetamine inside Hawkins’ shoes.

During today’s hearing, Hawkins pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.  Hawkins admitted transporting 300 grams of methamphetamine on Sept. 23, 2015, while traveling through Albuquerque on the Amtrak Train.  Hawkins further admitted that he intended to transfer the methamphetamine to another person at his destination.

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

This case was investigated by the Interdiction Unit of the DEA’s Albuquerque office which focuses on disrupting the flow of narcotics, weapons, and the proceeds of illegal activities as they are smuggled into or through New Mexico in passenger buses, passenger trains, commercial vehicles and automobiles.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Wishard is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, 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 Eden, Jr., of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) announced that Thomas Martinez, 26, of Albuquerque, N.M., was arraigned this morning on an indictment charging him with violating the federal carjacking and firearms laws.

During today’s proceeding, Martinez entered a not guilty plea to a four-count indictment that was filed on Aug. 11, 2015, and charged him with two counts of carjacking and two counts of brandishing and discharging a firearm during a carjacking.  According to court filings, Martinez committed all four crimes on July 22, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M., as he allegedly attempted to evade APD officers who were seeking to arrest him on a warrant arising out of an unrelated state court case.

According a criminal complaint filed on July 23, 2015, Martinez allegedly committed the first carjacking as he attempted to flee from officers conducting surveillance in the vicinity of a hotel in northeast Albuquerque.  Martinez allegedly ran to a Chevrolet sedan occupied by a driver and three children as the driver was entering a ramp onto Interstate 40.  Martinez allegedly brandished a firearm at the driver, pushed the driver into the passenger seat of the Chevrolet, and used the Chevrolet 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 allegedly was dragged by the Chevrolet as Martinez drove away.  As Martinez continued his flight, the driver of the Chevrolet began to fight with Martinez in an effort to get him to stop the vehicle.  Martinez allegedly responded by discharging a firearm in an attempt to shoot the driver.  When Martinez slowed down, the driver was able to jump out of the Chevrolet.

The complaint further alleges that Martinez continued his flight in the Chevrolet and abandoned the vehicle in a neighborhood in southeast Albuquerque.  There Martinez allegedly forced his way into a Cadillac sedan occupied by an older man seated in the front passenger seat of the vehicle.  As Martinez began to drive away, another man confronted Martinez, got into the Cadillac, and began fighting with Martinez.  During the fight, Martinez allegedly 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 remained in state custody on related state charges until he was transferred to federal custody to face the charges in the federal indictment.

If convicted, Martinez faces a statutory maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison on each of the carjacking charges.  If convicted on the first charge of brandishing and discharging a firearm, Martinez faces a statutory mandatory minimum of ten years in prison.  If convicted on the second brandishing and discharging count, he faces a mandatory minimum of 25 years in federal prison.  The sentences imposed on the firearms charges, 35 years, must be served consecutive to any sentence imposed on the carjacking charges.  Charges in indictments are merely accusations.  Defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

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 is prosecuting the case as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution.  Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders 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 – Reyes Lujan, 27, of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court to violating the Hobbs Act, by participating in the armed robbery of a Walmart Store in Albuquerque on Oct. 29, 2014.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, Reyes Lujan will be sentenced to 71 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

Reyes Lujan was arrested on Feb. 9, 2015, on an indictment charging him and five co-defendants with violating the Hobbs Act by robbing a business engaged in interstate commerce and firearms charges.  Count 1 of the indictment charged Reyes Lujan and five other Albuquerque residents, Raymond Castillo, 26, Daniel Maestas, 35, Johnny Ramirez, 30, Frank Gallegos, 30, and Henry Lujan, 22, with conspiracy to violate the Hobbs Act.  Count 2 charged the six men with interfering with interstate commerce by robbing a Wal-Mart Store in Bernalillo County, N.M., on Oct. 29, 2014.  Count 3 charged Castillo with brandishing a firearm during the robbery of the Wal-Mart store, and Count 4 charges Maestas with using and carrying a firearm during that 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 subsequently superseded in May 2015, by adding a new defendant, Reynaldo Marquez, 25, of Albuquerque, and two new counts.  The new Count 6 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 new Count 7 charges Marquez with discharging a firearm during that robbery.

During today’s change of plea hearing, Reyes Lujan entered a guilty plea to Count 2 of the superseding indictment charging a violation of the Hobbs Act.  According to the plea agreement, Reyes Lujan and his co-defendants planned the Oct. 29, 2014, robbery of the Walmart Store located at 400 Eubank NE in Albuquerque.  Reyes Lujan, who was not armed, was dropped off outside of the store to act as a “lookout” in the parking lot while two of his co-defendants went inside the Walmart Store and stole a rolling safe.

Reyes Lujan’s six co-defendants 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.

The United States has agreed to separate trials for Counts 1 through 5 of the superseding indictment and Counts 6 and 7.

If convicted on Counts 1 and 2, the conspiracy charge and the first Hobbs Act charge, the defendants each face a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.  A conviction on Counts 4 and 5, using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence or aiding and abetting the use of a firearm, each carries a mandatory five-year prison sentence which must be served consecutive to any sentence imposed on the conspiracy and Hobbs Act charges.  If Castillo is found to be a career offender and convicted after trial on Count 3 of the superseding indictment, he faces an enhanced sentence of prison term of 360 months to life imprisonment.

Castillo and Marquez each face a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years if convicted on Count 6 of the superseding indictment.  If convicted of discharging a firearm as charged in Count 7, Marquez faces a mandatory minimum of ten years in prison which must be served consecutive to any sentence imposed on him for a conviction on Count 6.

This case was investigated by 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 – Leon Herrera, 37, of Las Vegas, N.M., pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to falsely impersonating a federal officer.

Herrera entered his guilty plea to a felony information charging him with impersonating a Special Agent of the DEA on Dec. 15, 2014, in Colfax County, N.M.  In his plea agreement, Herrera admitted that he committed the crime at the behest of a friend who was then employed as a deputy sheriff in Colfax County (friend).

According to Herrera’s plea agreement, on Dec. 15, 2014, Herrera received a call from his friend while the friend was conducting a traffic stop on motorists he believed to be drug traffickers.  The friend reported to Herrera that he found approximately $8,000.00 cash in the motorists’ vehicle.  The friend then asked Herrera to speak with one of the motorists and tell him that he was a DEA Special Agent and intended to seize the currency as proceeds of criminal activity.  Herrera acquiesced in his friend’s request and had a conversation with one of the motorists during which he falsely identified himself as a representative of the DEA and would be seizing the money for law enforcement purposes.  The plea agreement states that the friend told him that he intended to keep the currency for his personal use, and offered to give $1,000.00 to Herrera for assisting him.

In his plea agreement, Herrera acknowledges that he later learned that the motorists were undercover law enforcement officers and that the currency seized from their vehicle, $7,500.00, belonged to the FBI.

At sentencing, Herrera faces a statutory maximum penalty of three years in prison followed by up to one year of supervised release.  A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Santa Fe and Albuquerque offices of the FBI and the New Mexico State Police.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean J. Sullivan is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Earlier today a federal jury sitting in Las Cruces, N.M., found Juan Antonio Alvarez-Ramirez, 36, a resident alien from Mexico residing in Artesia, N.M., guilty on marijuana trafficking and firearms charges after a three-day trial.  The guilty verdict was announced by 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), Special Agent in Charge Will R. Glaspy of the DEA’s El Paso Division, Task Force Commander James McCormick of the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force (PVDTF) and Chief Donald Raley of the Artesia Police Department.

Alvarez-Ramirez and his co-defendant, Ronnie Joe Lopez, 31, of Odessa, Texas, were arrested in Jan. 2014, on an indictment charging them with participating in a marijuana trafficking conspiracy, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and carrying and using a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime.  Lopez was also charged with receipt of a firearm by a person under indictment.  All offenses charged in the indictment took place on Sept. 28, 2013, in Eddy County, N.M.

Lopez pled guilty to the indictment on April 4, 2014, and admitted that on Sept. 28, 2013, he and Alvarez-Ramirez were stopped by law enforcement officers in Artesia and found to be in possession of ten pounds of marijuana which Lopez and Alvarez-Ramirez intended to distribute to others.  Lopez further admitted that he was in possession of a gun shortly before being stopped by the officers; at the time Lopez was under indictment in Texas.  Lopez was sentenced on Oct. 29, 2014, to 68 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Alvarez-Ramirez elected to proceed to trial on the three counts in the indictment in which he was charged.  The trial began on Oct. 14, 2015, and concluded this afternoon when the jury returned a verdict finding him guilty on three counts of the indictment.

The evidence at trial established that on Sept. 28, 2013, acting on a tip from the Artesia Police Department, a PVDTF agent executed a traffic stop on Lopez based on information that there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest.  At the time of the vehicle stop, Lopez, Alvarez-Ramirez and two other men were in the vehicle. After observing a shotgun in the backseat of the vehicle the agents obtained a search warrant. During the search of the vehicle, agents found a 9 mm pistol and ten pounds of marijuana in addition to the shotgun that was in the backseat.  The agents also found three handguns on the ground outside of the vehicle.  During a post-arrest statement, Alvarez-Ramirez admitted throwing one of the handguns underneath the vehicle when he saw the police and dropped another handgun in the area where he had been laying on the ground pursuant to law enforcement commands for him to get down.

Alvarez-Ramirez has been in federal custody since his arrest and will remain detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.  At sentencing, he faces a statutory maximum penalty of five years in prison on the marijuana trafficking charges.  He also faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison on the firearms charge which must be served consecutive to the sentence imposed on the marijuana charges.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces offices of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the DEA, the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force and the Artesia Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maria Y. Armijo and Randy M. Castellano are prosecuting the case.

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Norma Patricia Rivera, 40, of Deming, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to methamphetamine trafficking charges.  Under the terms of her plea agreement, Rivera will be sentenced to 120 months in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

Rivera was arrested in May 2015, on a criminal complaint alleging that she possessed methamphetamine with intent to distribute in Luna County, N.M., on May 20, 2015.  According to the complaint, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents executed a search warrant at a residence in Luna County where they seized approximately 722.9 grams of a methamphetamine mixture in liquid and crystal form.

Rivera was subsequently charged in a two-count indictment on Aug. 19, 2015, with distribution of methamphetamine on July 17, 2014, in Doña Ana County, N.M., and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on May 20, 2015, in Luna County.

During today’s proceedings, Rivera pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on July 17, 2014, in Las Cruces, she sold 162.18 grams of methamphetamine to an individual working with law enforcement.  Rivera further admitted that on May 20, 2015, in Deming, she possessed liquid and crystal methamphetamine which she intended to sell to other individuals.  Rivera remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by HSI, the Las Cruces office of the FBI, the HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force and the Deming Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander B. Shapiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

The HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of officers from the Las Cruces Police Department, the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, HSI and the New Mexico State Police.  The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.  HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.

ALBUQUERQUE – Angela Santillanes, 30, of Albuquerque, N.M., appeared in federal court this morning on an indictment charging her with a sex trafficking charge.  Santillanes remains in federal custody pending an arraignment on the indictment and a detention hearing, both of which are set for tomorrow.

Santillanes was arrested in Aug. 2015, in Dallas, Texas, on an indictment charging her and co-defendant Shane Roach, 26, also of Albuquerque, with commercial sex trafficking.  She was recently transferred to New Mexico to face the charge in the indictment.

The indictment alleges that Roach and Santillanes used force, threats of force and coercion to cause the victim to engage in a commercial sex act between May and June 2015.  It alleges that the defendants committed this crime in Bernalillo County, N.M.

According to the criminal complaint filed in July 2015, the victim who allegedly was sex trafficked by Santillanes and Roach contacted the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) with a request for help on June 10, 2015.  During subsequent interviews, the victim alleged that she had been trafficked for sex by Roach for approximately a month and a half.  During that time, the victim allegedly was forced to engage in sex with men four or five times a day earning between $400.00 and $500.00, and Roach allegedly kept all the money.  During that time, Roach allegedly beat the victim on a number of occasions, and threatened to harm her family if she left him.

Roach was arrested in July 2015.  Trial for Roach is currently set for Dec. 2015, in Albuquerque.

If convicted of the offenses charged in the federal indictment, Santillanes and Roach each face a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison.  Charges in indictments and criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of Homeland Security Investigations and APD’s Vice Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman Cairns is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Pete Pasqual Chavez, 36, of Albuquerque, N.M., was arraigned this morning in federal court on an indictment charging him with being felon in possession of a firearm.  Chavez entered a not guilty plea to the indictment and was ordered detained pending trial.

The indictment was announced by 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).

Chavez was arrested on Sept. 16, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on Sept. 14, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M.  The complaint alleges that on Sept. 14, 2015, officers of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) responded to the La Quinta Inn on San Antonio Blvd. in Albuquerque after Chavez allegedly told hotel personnel that he had just shot a person who was breaking into his vehicle.  Upon arrival, the APD officers found a firearm under Chavez’s vehicle.  Thereafter the officers executed search warrants for Chavez’s hotel room and vehicle.  In the vehicle, the officers allegedly found a single projectile that was removed from the inside of the passenger door and a box of Perfecta .45 caliber ammunition.  In Chavez’s hotel room, the officers allegedly found four rounds of Perfecta .45 caliber ammunition.  In the bushes outside Chavez’s room, the officers allegedly found a firearm loaded with ten rounds of Perfecta .45 caliber ammunition.

Chavez was indicted on Oct. 7, 2015, and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

At the time of his arrest, Chavez was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition, because he previously had been convicted of attempting to traffic a controlled substance with intent to distribute, possession of a controlled substance, tampering with evidence, shooting from or into a vehicle and use of a telephone to facilitate a drug trafficking crime.      

If convicted of the crime charged in the indictment, Chavez faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison.  If the court determines that Chavez is an armed career criminal, he faces an enhanced sentence of a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison to a maximum of life imprisonment. Charges in indictments are merely accusations.  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 APD.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman Cairns is 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.  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 – Oscar Anchondo, 38, of Albuquerque, N.M., has been arrested on a criminal complaint charging him with violating the federal firearms laws.  Anchondo made his initial appearance in federal court this morning and remains in federal custody pending a preliminary hearing and detention hearing, both scheduled for tomorrow morning.

Anchondo’s arrest was announced by 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), Chief Tom Romero of the Bernalillo Police Department, Chief Gorden Eden, Jr., of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD), and Chief Michael Geier of the Rio Rancho Police Department.

The criminal complaint alleges that Anchondo unlawfully possessed a firearm and ammunition on Oct. 6, 2015, in Sandoval County, N.M.  According to the criminal complaint, on Oct. 6, 2015, a resident of the Town of Bernalillo called the Bernalillo Police Department to report a stolen vehicle.  The victim reported that Anchondo stole the vehicle after threatening to kill her; Anchondo allegedly was armed when he made the threat.  Officers responded to the call and located the vehicle parked in the driveway of another residence in Bernalillo.  In response to an inquiry from the officers, an occupant of the residence allegedly said that Anchondo was in the residence.

According to the criminal complaint, officers conducted surveillance at the residence until they observed Anchondo leave the residence.  Anchondo allegedly held a firearm under his chin as he walked to and got into the stolen vehicle.  Anchondo then fled from the area and eventually got stuck in a muddy area.  Anchondo was taken into custody after he allegedly fled on foot to another residence.  Thereafter the officers allegedly found a revolver in the stolen vehicle that was abandoned in the mud.

According to court records, on Oct. 6, 2015, Anchondo was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of the following felony offenses in state court: armed robbery with a deadly weapon, attempted robbery with a deadly weapon, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

If convicted of the charge in the criminal complaint, Anchondo faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison.  Charges in criminal complaints are mere accusations.  Defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

This case was investigated by the ATF office in Albuquerque and the Bernalillo Police Department with assistance from the Albuquerque Police Department and the Rio Rancho Police Department.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Brawley 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 based on their criminal histories 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 – David Charles Prins, 47, a member of the Mescalero Apache Nation, pled guilty Friday afternoon in Las Cruces, N.M., to a federal assault charge.

Prins was arrested on April 24, 2015, on a criminal complaint that charged him with assault by striking resulting in serious bodily injury.  According to the complaint, on Sept. 19, 2014, security guards at the Inn of the Mountain Gods Hotel responded to a disturbance in Prins’ hotel room, where they allegedly found Prins in bloody clothes and the victim unconscious on the floor covered in blood.  As a result of her injuries, the victim had to have her ear sewn and she suffered facial bone fractures.

Prins was subsequently charged by indictment on June 17, 2015, with assault resulting in serious bodily injury which occurred on Sept. 19, 2014, in Otero County, N.M.  During Friday’s proceedings, Prins entered a guilty plea to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement.

At sentencing, Prins faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in prison followed by up to three years of supervised release.  Prins 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 and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Gould of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

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 – Jared Alan Slyh, 33, of Las Cruces, N.M., pled guilty Friday afternoon in federal court in Las Cruces to a heroin trafficking charge.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, Slyh will be sentenced to 24 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

Slyh was arrested on June 16, 2015, and charged by criminal complaint with distributing heroin and participating in a heroin distribution conspiracy.  According to the complaint, Slyh provided 353.4 grams of heroin to an undercover law enforcement officer on June 3, 2015.

 During Friday’s proceedings, Slyh pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of heroin with intent to distribute.  Slyh remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

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

This case is being prosecuted pursuant to the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative.  The HOPE Initiative is a collaboration between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center that is partnering with the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative with the overriding goal of reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in the District of New Mexico.  The HOPE Initiative comprised of five components:  (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning.  The law enforcement component of the HOPE Initiative 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 trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative.

ALBUQUERQUE – Maria L. Ceniceros, 43, of Anthony, N.M., and Armando Gutierrez-Torres, 51, a Mexican national who resides in Delicias, Mexico, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to theft of government property and aggravated identity theft charges.

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.  The charges in the complaint arose out of a scheme to steal money from the United States by using the identities of individuals without their knowledge or consent to generate and cash fraudulent federal income tax refund checks.  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.

During today’s proceedings, Ceniceros pled guilty to a felony information charging her with conspiracy to commit theft of public money and conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft.  Ceniceros admitted that she accessed the Voter Registration database at work and recorded the names, dates of birth and social security numbers of 111 people whose identities she knew were going to be used to file fraudulent federal income tax returns in order to obtain fraudulent refund checks, she also agreed to mail fraudulent federal income tax returns and cash refund checks for Gutierrez-Torres.  Under the terms of her plea agreement, Ceniceros will be sentenced to 24 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

Gutierrez-Torres also entered a guilty plea to a felony information today in federal court.  Gutierrez-Torres admitted that in Nov. 2014, he asked Ceniceros for the identifiers of people born in 1995, to be used to file fraudulent federal income tax returns in order to obtain fraudulent refund checks.  Gutierrez-Torres further admitted that he asked Ceniceros to mail fraudulent federal income tax returns to the IRS and to cash refund checks in the total amount of $11,963.73.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, Gutierrez-Torres will be sentenced to 24 months in prison.  He will be deported following his term of imprisonment.

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Mister Samuel, 35, of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning in federal court, to a misdemeanor information charging him with assault.

Samuel was arrested and charged in a criminal complaint in Feb. 2015, with assault with intent to do bodily harm without just cause or excuse.  According to the complaint, Samuel assaulted the victim on Feb. 18, 2015, at the emergency room of the Veterans Administration Medical Center by striking the victim repeatedly with a “hand sanitizer stand.”  On Feb. 19, 2015, Samuel was charged in a misdemeanor information with assault by striking, beating or wounding on Feb. 18, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M.

During today’s proceedings, Samuel entered a guilty plea to the information without the benefit of a plea agreement.  At sentencing, Samuel faces a statutory maximum penalty of one year in prison followed by up to one year of supervised release.  Samuel is in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Veterans Affairs Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rumaldo R. Armijo.

ALBUQUERQUE – U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and Special Agent in Charge Waldemar Rodriguez of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, Texas, announced today that Stephanie Pyle, 40, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced for her conviction on fraud and aggravated identity theft charges.

Pyle was sentenced to 30 months in prison for her conviction on the fraud charge and 24 months in prison for her conviction on an aggravated identity theft charge.  Because the sentence on the identity theft charge must be served consecutive to the sentence on the fraud charge, Pyle was sentenced to a total of 54 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.  Pyle was also ordered to pay $2,409,901.00 in restitution to the victims of her criminal conduct.

Pyle was charged on Feb. 10, 2015, in a 12-count indictment alleging that between Jan. 2010 and May 2014, Pyle used credit cards and account numbers in her employer’s name without authorization and with the intent to defraud her employer.  Counts 1 through 6 of the indictment charged Pyle with defrauding her employer of approximately $1,531,124.00 during a five-year period.  Counts 6 through 12 of the indictment charged Pyle with using the identity of another person to commit the fraudulent acts charged in Counts 1 through 6.  At the time of the offenses charged in the indictment, Pyle was employed as the comptroller for the Albuquerque-based construction company that was the victim of Pyle’s criminal conduct.

On May 19, 2015, Pyle pled guilty to Counts 1 and 7 of the indictment.  In her plea agreement, Pyle admitted that while working as the comptroller for the company that was the victim of her criminal conduct, she obtained a credit card in her name that was linked to a credit card account in the name of one of the co-owners of the company.  Pyle changed the address on the account to reflect her home address so that her employer would not see the statements of expenditures made on the credit card.  Using her position as comptroller, Pyle arranged for the company to pay off the credit card balances on a frequent basis.  Pyle admitted making thousands of personal charges and purchases on the credit card that she was not authorized to make.  She also admitted using the name and credit card account of her employer without authorization to facilitate her criminal conduct.   

The case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of HSI and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Peña.