District of New Mexico

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

The case also was brought as a part of the New Mexico ICAC Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico. There are 82 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies associated with the New Mexico ICAC Task Force, which is funded by a grant administered by the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General. Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.

ALBUQUERQUE – JoAnn Bell, 36, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to a theft of mail charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

The three remaining co-defendants have entered not guilty pleas to the indictment and are pending trial. Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and the HIDTA Region I Drug Task Force as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program, which combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations. The HIDTA Region I Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Albuquerque Police Department, Rio Rancho Police Department, Valencia County Sheriff’s Office, Pueblo of Pojoaque Tribal Police Department and DEA. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.

 

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

 

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Carlos Tafoya, Jr., 35, of Socorro, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 13 years in prison for his conviction on methamphetamine trafficking charges. Tafoya will be on supervised release for five years after completing his prison sentence.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

Martinez-Encinias is one of 14 defendants charged with drug trafficking and firearms offenses as the result of an 18-month investigation by DEA and the HIDTA Region I Narcotics Task Force into a drug trafficking organization allegedly led by David Reynolds, 34, of Albuquerque, N.M., that distributed large quantities of heroin in Bernalillo and Santa Fe Counties, N.M. The investigation was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (“OCDETF”) program, a nationwide Department of Justice program that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and the HIDTA Region I Narcotics Task Force, with assistance from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy S. Vasquez and Joel R. Meyers pursuant to the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative.

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

 

If convicted of the Hobbs Act robbery charge, Salas faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Albuquerque Police Department, with assistance from the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul H. Spiers is prosecuting the case as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders primarily based on their prior criminal convictions for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

ALBUQUERQUE – Yvonne Garcia, 54, and Gerald Roberts, 49, a married couple from Albuquerque, N.M., entered guilty pleas today in federal court to drug trafficking and money laundering charges. Under the terms of the plea agreements, Garcia will be sentenced to 46 months in prison and Roberts will be sentenced to 51 months in prison followed by terms of supervised release to be determined by the court.

 

The plea agreements also require Garcia and Roberts to forfeit the proceeds of their criminal conduct, including more than $87,000 in cash seized from the couple’s bank accounts and safe deposit box, and a 2016 Toyota Camry, a 2016 Toyota Tacoma truck and a 2013 BMW motorcycle.

 

Garcia and Roberts were arrested in Sept. 2016, on an eight-count indictment charging them with trafficking controlled substances in Bernalillo County, N.M. Garcia and Roberts were charged with conspiring to distribute oxycodone, oxymorphone and alprazolam from May 2016 through Sept. 2016. The indictment also charged the couple with distributing oxycodone on three separate occasions in May, June and July 2016; distributing oxymorphone on four occasions in May, June, July and Sept. 2016; and distributing alprazolam in July 2016. The indictment included forfeiture provisions requiring Garcia and Roberts to forfeit proceeds of their drug trafficking activities, including $15,500 and three vehicles, to the United States.

 

During today’s proceedings, Garcia and Roberts each pled guilty to the conspiracy charged in the indictment and to felony informations charging them with conspiring to launder drug proceeds. According to the plea agreement, between May 2016 and Sept. 2016, Garcia and Roberts sold oxycodone, oxymorphone and alprazolam to an individual who unbeknownst to them was an undercover DEA agent. Garcia and Roberts deposited the proceeds of their illegal drug transactions into Wells Fargo checking and savings accounts in amounts that would not trigger currency-reporting requirements that could alert law enforcement authorities to their illegal activities. Garcia and Roberts used the drug proceeds in the bank accounts to make payments on their residential mortgage and vehicle loans.

 

Garcia and Roberts remain in custody pending sentencing hearings, which have yet to be scheduled.

 

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

 

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Joleen Sedillo, 42, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty this morning in federal court to bank robbery charges. Under the terms of her plea agreement, Sedillo will be sentenced within the range of 27 to 33 months in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

 

Sedillo and co-defendants Abel Lopez, 31, and William Colbert, 38, both of Albuquerque, were arrested in July 2016, on a criminal complaint charging them with bank robbery charges. The criminal complaint alleges that Sedillo, Lopez and Colbert robbed Bank of the West branches located at 5401 Central Ave. NE and 7900 Wyoming Blvd. NE on June 22, 2016 and June 27, 2016, respectively, and attempted to rob the Bank of the West branch located at 5228 Central Ave. SW on July 14, 2016.

 

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

 

During this morning’s proceedings, Sedillo pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank robbery and to aiding and abetting an attempted bank robbery. In entering the guilty plea, Sedillo admitted driving Lopez and Colbert to the Bank of the West branches they planned to rob. Sedillo further admitted that on July 14, 2016, she drove her co-defendants away from a branch of Bank of the West branch that Colbert attempted to rob. She also admitted concealing the clothing Colbert wore during the attempted robbery. A sentencing hearing for Sedillo has yet to be scheduled.

 

Lopez and Colbert have entered pleas of not guilty to the charges against them. Both remain in custody pending trial, which has yet to be scheduled. Charges in indictments and criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

 

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Lisa Benally, 37, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation from Fort Defiance, Ariz., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to federal firearms and burglary charges.

 

Benally and co-defendant Loren Lloyd Wauneka, 37, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation from Window Rock, Ariz., were arrested on Jan. 29, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging them with being felons in possession of firearms and burglary. The criminal complaint alleged that Benally and Wauneka committed the crimes on the Navajo Indian Reservation in McKinley County, N.M., on Dec. 1, 2015. According to the criminal complaint, a law enforcement officer encountered Benally, Wauneka and others as they were burglarizing the officer’s residence. During the execution of a search warrant on the vehicle in which Benally and Wauneka were traveling, officers seized a television, jewelry, bags, computer laptops and two firearms belonging to the officer whose home was burgled.

 

Benally and Wauneka were indicted on Feb. 24, 2016, and charged with being felons in possession of firearms and ammunition, possession of stolen firearms, and aggravated burglary on Dec. 1, 2015. According to the indictment, Benally was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because she previously had been convicted of escape, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of dangerous drugs. Wauneka was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously was convicted of unlawful discharge of a firearm and aggravated driving while intoxicated.

 

During today’s proceedings, Benally pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and aggravated burglary. In entering the guilty plea, Benally admitted that on Dec. 1, 2015, she and others drove to and unlawfully entered a residence with the intent to commit theft and stole two firearms and ammunition, which Benally placed into her vehicle, thus making Benally armed during the burglary. Benally further admitted that she was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of her status as a convicted felon.

 

On March 23, 2017, Wauneka pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and aggravated burglary. In entering the guilty plea, Wauneka also admitted that on Dec. 1, 2015, he entered a residence with the intent to commit theft and stole two firearms and ammunition, which he placed into his vehicle, thus making Wauneka armed during the burglary. Wauneka further admitted that he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his status as a convicted felon.

 

At sentencing, Benally and Wauneka each face a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. Sentencing hearings have yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety, the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office and the New Mexico State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Murphy is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Nochise Martinez, 23, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Ramah, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a voluntary manslaughter charge. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Martinez will be sentenced to 48 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

 

Martinez was arrested on Jan. 4, 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with killing a Navajo man on the Ramah Navajo Indian Reservation in Cibola County, N.M., on Dec. 31, 2016. According to the criminal complaint, Martinez stabbed the victim multiple times during a fight.

 

During today’s proceedings, Martinez pled guilty to a felony information charging him with voluntary manslaughter. In entering the guilty plea, Martinez admitted that on Dec. 31, 2016, he killed the victim by stabbing him in the chest with a knife during a fight between the two men. Martinez remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Gallup office of the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Spindle.

ALBUQUERQUE – Joel Martinez, 31, of Socorro, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Santa Fe, N.M., to 60 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction.

 

Martinez was arrested in Aug. 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Aug. 26, 2015, in Socorro County, N.M. According to the complaint, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on Martinez’s residence on Aug. 26, 2015, and seized 392 grams of methamphetamine, a disassembled firearm, and drug paraphernalia. Martinez was indicted on the same charge on Sept. 22, 2015.

 

On June 10, 2016, Martinez pled guilty to the indictment. In entering the guilty plea, Martinez admitted that on Aug. 26, 2015, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on his residence in Socorro, and found approximately 392 grams of methamphetamine, which he intended to distribute to others.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA, the HIDTA Region I Narcotics Task Force and the Socorro Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Presiliano Torrez.

 

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Frances Jo Mehner, 71, of Rio Rancho, N.M., was sentenced yesterday afternoon in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a 207-day term of imprisonment, which she has already served, followed by a year of supervised release for filing a false claim for a federal tax refund.

 

Given Mehner’s obstructive behavior towards the IRS, the federal judge also ordered Mehner to comply with several special conditions during her term of supervised release. Mehner is required to file timely, accurate, and lawful tax returns. Mehner also may only communicate with the IRS through a licensed attorney. She also is prohibited from filing any liens or other forms against any employee of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, or the IRS.

 

Mehner was charged in a three-count indictment that was filed on Dec. 16, 2014. Counts 1 and 2 of the indictment charged Mehner with filing false claims for federal tax refunds. Count 1 charged Mehner with filing a false claim for a federal tax refund in the amount of $211,334,725.00 in Jan. 2010, and Count 2 charged her with filing a false claim for a federal tax refund in the amount of $958,163,765.00 in Jan. 2010. Count 3 of the indictment charged Mehner with unlawfully seeking to obstruct and impede the administration of the federal tax laws by filing false tax returns for tax years 1996, 1999 and 2002 through 2008. The indictment alleged that Mehner committed these offenses in Sandoval County, N.M.

 

On March 13, 2017, Mehner pled guilty to Count 2 of the indictment charging her with making a false claim for a federal tax refund. In entering the guilty plea, Mehner admitted that on Jan. 8, 2010, she presented to the IRS a claim for a tax refund in the amount of $958,163,765.00, while knowing that she was not entitled to such a refund. Mehner further admitted making the false claim by mailing a U.S. Individual Income Tax Return Form 1040 for the year 2006.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque offices of IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean J. Sullivan, Brandon Fyffe and Margaret M. Vierbuchen.

ALBUQUERQUE – Cipriano Anaya, 35, of Roswell, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 108 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on methamphetamine trafficking charges.

 

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

 

The investigation, which was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program, initially targeted a drug trafficking organization (DTO) led by Joseph Ray Mendiola, 35, of Roswell, that allegedly distributed methamphetamine in Chaves County. It later expanded to include drug traffickers who allegedly supplied methamphetamine to the Mendiola DTO and other drug traffickers operating in Chaves County. The OCDETF program combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations.

 

Anaya and 15 other federal defendants were charged in a 24-count indictment filed on Sept. 22, 2015. Count 1 of the Indictment charged 15 of the 16 defendants with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine between June 2015 and July 2015. Count 2 charged three defendants with conspiracy to distribute cocaine in July 2015. Counts 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 charged certain defendants with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute in July 2015. Counts 8 through 24 charged certain defendants with using communications devices (telephones) to facilitate drug trafficking crimes. All crimes charged in the federal indictment occurred in Chaves County.

 

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

 

On Aug. 26, 2016, Anaya pled guilty to participating in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy and to using a communication device to facilitate a drug trafficking crime. In entering the guilty plea, Anaya admitted conspiring with his co-defendants to distribute methamphetamine in Chaves County from June 2015 through July 31, 2015. Anaya further admitted that on July 26, 2015, he used a telephone to further the drug trafficking conspiracy.

 

To date, 12 of Anaya’s co-defendants have entered guilty pleas and are awaiting sentencing. Three co-defendants have yet to be arrested and are considered fugitives. Charges in indictments and criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

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

 

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Jesus Rodriguez, 32, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. The guilty plea, which was entered without the benefit of a plea agreement, was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney, Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry of the Phoenix Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales, III.

 

Rodriguez was arrested in April 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition in Bernalillo County, N.M., on Jan. 29, 2016. Rodriguez subsequently was indicted on the same charge on May 10, 2016. According to the indictment, Rodriguez previously had been convicted of several felony offenses including aggravated assault against a household member with a deadly weapon, auto burglary, aggravated battery against a household member causing great bodily harm, child abuse, conspiracy to commit auto burglary, and battery on a peace officer.

 

During today’s proceedings, Rodriguez pled guilty to the indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. At sentencing, Rodriguez faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. If the Court determines that Rodriguez is an armed career criminal, Rodriguez faces an enhanced sentence of a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum of life imprisonment.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of ATF and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Presiliano Torrez is prosecuting this case as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders primarily based on their prior convictions for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

ALBUQUERQUE – Richard Ruiz Leyva, 36, of Las Cruces, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to assaulting federal and local law enforcement officers. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Leyva will be sentenced to 82 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

 

Leyva was arrested in Aug. 2016, and charged by a criminal complaint with assaulting and resisting federally commissioned officers of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS). According to the complaint, Leyva assaulted the officers by using his vehicle as a weapon by repeatedly running into law enforcement vehicles as the law enforcement officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Leyva. Leyva also drove his vehicle directly at a USMS Federally Deputized Task Force Officer (TFO) who had exited his vehicle after Leyva had rendered the TFO’s vehicle inoperable by crashing into the law enforcement vehicle.

 

During today’s proceedings, Leyva pled guilty to a felony information charging him with two counts of assaulting, resisting and interfering with federal officers and other law enforcement officers engaged in the performance of their official duties. In entering the guilty plea, Leyva admitted that on Aug. 19, 2016, he used his vehicle as a deadly weapon in an attempt to flee from federal and local law enforcement officers because of an outstanding warrant for his arrest. Leyva further admitted that he drove directly at a TFO who had exited his law enforcement vehicle, but turned when the TFO fired his weapon at Leyva in an attempt to stop Leyva.

 

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

 

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces offices of the FBI and the USMS and the Las Cruces Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah M. Davenport of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Brandon Bob Lincoln, 30, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Breadsprings, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 37 months in prison for his involuntary manslaughter conviction. Lincoln will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.

 

Lincoln was arrested in March 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with involuntary manslaughter. According to the complaint, Lincoln killed a Navajo man when he crashed his vehicle on March 20, 2016, on the Navajo Indian Reservation in McKinley County, N.M. At the time of the crash, Lincoln was driving under the influence of alcohol.

 

Lincoln subsequently was indicted on April 26, 2016, and charged with involuntary manslaughter. On Oct. 5, 2016, Lincoln pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement.

 

This case was investigated by the Northern Pueblos Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Spindle prosecuted the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Norman Yazzie, 56, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, N.M., was sentenced this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to ten years in prison followed by four years of supervised release for discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

 

Yazzie was arrested in May 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with assault and firearms offenses on April 29, 2016, on the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M. According to the complaint, Yazzie shot the victim with a rifle in the forehead and the knee, causing her to suffer serious bodily injury.

 

Yazzie subsequently was indicted on May 24, 2016, and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, a rifle, with intent to do bodily harm, assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. According to the indictment, the offenses took place on April 29, 2016, in San Juan County.

 

On Nov. 16, 2016, Yazzie pled guilty to discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. In entering the guilty plea, Yazzie admitted that on April 29, 2016, he shot the victim in the head and knee with a rifle.

 

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Rumaldo Varela Enriquez, 46, a Mexican national residing in Lovington, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 57 months in prison for his conviction on a methamphetamine trafficking charge. Enriquez will be deported after completing his prison sentence.

 

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

 

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

 

Enriquez was arrested in Dec. 2015, on an indictment charging him and co-defendants Octavio Herrera, 54, and Johnny Flowers, 51, both of Hobbs, N.M., with methamphetamine trafficking offenses. The indictment charged Enriquez with participation in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and use of a communication facility in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

 

On Sept. 9, 2016, Enriquez pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Enriquez admitted that on Dec. 14, 2015, law enforcement agents located approximately 128 grams of methamphetamine in a locked shed located on the property where Enriquez was residing in Lovington, N.M., and approximately 21 grams of methamphetamine and a handgun inside Enriquez’s bedroom. Enriquez further admitted that he had intended to distribute the methamphetamine found on his property.

 

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

 

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Anthony Margarito Berumen, 32, of Las Cruces, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 42 months in prison followed by six years of supervised release for his conviction on methamphetamine trafficking charges.

 

Berumen was arrested on Feb. 9, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Dec. 9, 2015 and Dec. 15, 2015. The complaint alleged that Berumen committed the crimes in Dona Ana County, N.M. According to the complaint, Berumen sold a total of 4.6 grams of methamphetamine to undercover law enforcement agents during two transactions on Dec. 9, 2015, and one transaction on Dec. 15, 2015.

 

Berumen was indicted on Aug. 17, 2016, and charged with three counts of distributing methamphetamine. The indictment was superseded on Sept. 22, 2016, charging Berumen with distributing methamphetamine on Dec. 9, 2015 and Dec. 16, 2015, and distributing methamphetamine in the vicinity of a school on Dec. 9, 2015.

 

On Jan. 12, 2017, Berumen pled guilty to the superseding indictment. In entering the guilty plea, Berumen admitted selling methamphetamine to undercover law enforcement on three occasions in Dec. 2015. He also acknowledged that one of the drug transactions took place in a middle school parking lot in Las Cruces.

 

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI and the New Mexico State Police and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Balla and Sarah M. Davenport of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

ALBUQUERQUE – Kirby Cleveland made his initial appearance in federal court this morning on a criminal complaint charging him with murder, announced Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney, Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division, and Director Jesse Delmar of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety. Cleveland remains in custody pending a preliminary hearing and a detention hearing, both of which are scheduled for March 22, 2017.

 

The criminal complaint, which was filed on March 14, 2017, charges Cleveland, 32, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation from Prewitt, N.M., with murdering a Navajo Nation tribal police officer. The criminal complaint alleges that Cleveland shot the victim officer, who was responding to a domestic violence call, on the night of March 11, 2017. The victim officer died on March 12, 2017, as the result of the gunshot injuries he sustained. If convicted on the murder charge, Cleveland faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

 

Cleveland was arrested on tribal charges on March 12, 2017, by the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety, and he remained in tribal custody until March 20, 2017, when the tribal charges against him were dismissed. Immediately after the dismissal of the tribal charges, the FBI arrested Cleveland on the criminal complaint.

 

The Gallup and Albuquerque offices of the FBI and the Crownpoint, Shiprock and Chinle offices of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety are investigating this case, with assistance from the New Mexico State Police and the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Novaline D. Wilson and Niki Tapia-Brito are prosecuting the case.

Cleveland Complaint

ALBUQUERQUE – Larry Valadez, 34, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 69 months in prison for his conviction on methamphetamine and heroin trafficking charges. Valadez will be on supervised release for four years following his prison sentence.

 

Valadez and co-defendant Johnny Ramirez, 34, also of Albuquerque, were charged on Dec. 1, 2015, with drug trafficking offenses in an eight-count indictment. Valadez and Ramirez were charged with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and heroin in May 2015, and with distributing methamphetamine and heroin in May 2015 and June 2015. According to the indictment, the two men committed the crimes in Bernalillo County, N.M.

 

On Jan. 19, 2017, Valadez pled guilty to distributing methamphetamine and heroin. In entering the guilty plea, Valadez admitted that on May 19, 2015, he sold approximately 23.52 grams of methamphetamine and 4.3 grams of heroin to an individual working with the FBI.

 

On Aug. 1, 2016, Ramirez pled guilty to two counts of methamphetamine distribution and one count of heroin distribution. In entering the guilty plea, Ramirez admitted that on May 19, 2015, he arranged for a co-conspirator to sell 23.52 grams of methamphetamine and 4.3 grams of heroin to an individual who was working with the FBI. Ramirez also admitted that on June 16, 2015, he sold 14.71 grams of methamphetamine to the same individual. Ramirez was sentenced on Nov. 8, 2016, to 84 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release.

 

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

 

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Anthony Montoya, 33, an enrolled member of the Santa Ana Pueblo who resides in Bernalillo, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to sexual abuse charges. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Montoya will be sentenced to 168 months in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release. Montoya will also be required to register as a sex offender when he completes his prison sentence.

 

The guilty plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney, Special Agent in Charge William McClure of District IV of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services, Chief William Kurth of the Santa Ana Pueblo Tribal Police Department, and Sandoval County Sheriff Douglas C. Wood.

 

Montoya was arrested on June 20, 2016, on an indictment charging him with sexually abusing two women in Aug. 2014, and sexually abusing a third woman on April 30, 2016. According to the indictment, the victims were physically incapable of declining to participate in the sexual acts. According to the indictment, Montoya committed the crimes on the Santa Ana Pueblo in Sandoval County, N.M.

 

During today’s proceedings, Montoya pled guilty to two counts of sexual abuse and admitted sexually abusing one woman on Aug. 16, 2014, and sexually abusing another woman on April 30, 2016. Montoya remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Southern Pueblos Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services, the Santa Ana Pueblo Tribal Police Department and the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Spindle is prosecuting the case.

 

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Leo Lopez, 27, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to a methamphetamine trafficking charge. Under the terms of his plea agreement, the government and the defendant agreed to recommend a sentence of 60 months imprisonment followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

 

Lopez and co-defendants Felix Ulibarri, 39, Joseph Sena, 40, and Jennifer Padilla, 39, were arrested during an ATF-led investigation that resulted in the filing of 59 federal indictments and a federal criminal complaint charging 104 Bernalillo County residents with federal firearms and narcotics trafficking offenses. The investigation began in mid-April 2016, when ATF personnel from throughout the country joined forces with federal, state, county and local law enforcement agencies in New Mexico to combat the high rate of violent crime in the Albuquerque metropolitan area. The investigators utilized a number of investigative techniques, including undercover operations, historical investigation and targeting of multi-convicted felons in possession of firearms.

 

The investigation was undertaken in support of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies collaborate with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution primarily based on their prior criminal convictions with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

 

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

 

During today’s change of plea hearing, Lopez pled guilty to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, and admitted that on July 26, 2016, he helped arrange a methamphetamine transaction between Sena, Padilla and himself. Lopez remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

 

To date, 32 of the 104 defendants have entered guilty pleas, and three defendants have been sentenced. The remaining defendants, including Ulibarri, Sena and Padilla have entered not guilty pleas. Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

 

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Patrick Begay, 43, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Churchrock, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to an abusive sexual contact charge. The plea agreement recommends that Begay be sentenced within the range of 144 to 216 months in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court. Begay will also be required to register as a sex offender.

 

Begay was arrested in Nov. 2016, on a four-count indictment charging him with sexually abusing a child under the age of 12 from Nov. 2013 through Dec. 2015, and engaging in sexual contact with a child under the age of 12 on Jan. 6, 2016. According to the indictment, Begay committed the offenses on the Navajo Indian Reservation in McKinley County, N.M.

 

During today’s proceedings, Begay pled guilty to Count 4 of the indictment charging him with abusive sexual contact with a child. In entering the guilty plea, Begay admitted that on Jan. 6, 2016, he engaged in sexual contact with the victim, who was then nine years old. Begay further admitted that he repeatedly sexually abused the victim from the time she was seven years old.

 

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

 

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

ALBUQUERQUE – William Herman Legatzke, 47, of Animas, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 84 months in prison for his conviction on a methamphetamine trafficking charge. He will be on supervised release for five years after completing his prison sentence.

 

Legatzke was arrested on Jan. 5, 2016, on a federal criminal complaint charging him with possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute. According to the criminal complaint, the charge arose out of the seizure of 12 ounces of methamphetamine from Legatzke by deputies of the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office during a routine traffic stop on Dec. 31, 2015, in Lordsburg, N.M.

 

On May 3, 2016, Legatzke pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Legatzke admitted that law enforcement officers found 340.2 grams of methamphetamine concealed in a box in the backseat of Legatzke’s vehicle during a traffic stop. Legatzke further admitted that he intended to distribute the methamphetamine to individuals in and around Lordsburg.

 

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA and the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Segovia of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office prosecuted the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – David Krowner, 42, of Estancia, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to federal methamphetamine trafficking and firearms charges arising out of a seizure of 20.7 kilograms (45.54 pounds) of methamphetamine and firearms. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Krowner will be sentenced to 12 years in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court. The guilty plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney, Special Agent in Charge Waldemar Rodriguez of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, and Chief Gorden E. Eden, Jr., of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD).

 

Krowner was arrested in June 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of methamphetamine and heroin with intent to distribute and using and carrying firearms in relation to drug trafficking crimes. According to the criminal complaint, the investigation into Krowner began on June 1, 2016, when HSI received information that Krowner was transporting large quantities of illegal drugs into the Albuquerque area. HSI agents and APD officers arrested Krowner in Albuquerque on June 17, 2016, after searching his vehicle and discovering a large bin containing 20.7 kilograms of methamphetamine, 1.8 kilograms of heroin, two bags of unidentified pills, seven packages of steroids, two handguns, a shotgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. They also seized approximately $21,750.00 from the vehicle and another $4,500.00 from a pocket of Krowner’s pants.

 

Krowner was indicted on June 30, 2016. The four-count indictment charged him with possessing methamphetamine and heroin with intent to distribute, being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition, and using and carrying firearms in relation to drug trafficking crimes. The indictment charged Krowner with committing these crimes on June 17, 2016, in Bernalillo County, N.M., and included forfeiture provisions requiring Krowner to forfeit $26,250 to the United States.

 

During today’s proceedings, Krowner pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. In entering the guilty plea, Krowner admitted that on June 17, 2016, HSI and APD found approximately 20.7 kilograms of methamphetamine, eight firearms, and multiple rounds of ammunition in the Krowner’s vehicle during a traffic stop. In his plea agreement, Krowner admitted that he was a convicted felon at the time of the traffic stop, having previously been convicted of a drug trafficking offense and armed robbery.

 

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

 

The case was investigated by HSI’s Border Enforcement and Security Taskforce, which includes APD officers, and APD’s Central Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Kraehe is prosecuting the case as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders primarily based on their prior convictions for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

ALBUQUERQUE – Amber Kay Otero, 31, of Carlsbad, N.M., was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to two years of probation for her conviction on a misdemeanor charge of unlawfully possessing a controlled substance. Otero also was ordered to perform 80 hours of community service and to pay a $1,000.00 fine.

 

Otero was arrested on Sept. 23, 2016, following an investigation initiated after the DEA received a report of theft or loss of controlled substances from the Southwest Pharmacy located at 2402 West Pierce Street in Carlsbad. According to the criminal complaint, Otero was employed as a pharmacy technician at Southwest Pharmacy and allegedly stole approximately 20,344 oxycodone tablets of various strengths.

 

On Dec. 20, 2016, Otero pled guilty to a misdemeanor information charging her with unlawful possession of a controlled substance. In entering the guilty plea, Otero admitted that from May 2012 through April 2015, she was employed as a pharmacy technician at the Southwest Pharmacy in Eddy County, N.M. She further admitted that on Jan. 15, 2015, she intentionally took oxycodone pills from a bottle at Southwest Pharmacy for her own consumption.

 

This case was investigated by the DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squad in El Paso, Texas, and the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force.

 

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 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.

 

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

 

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Jennifer Marissa Miera, 23, of Questa, N.M., pled guilty yesterday in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a federal bank robbery charge. The guilty plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney, Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI and Sheriff Jerry L Hogrefe of the Taos County Sheriff’s Department.

 

Miera and co-defendants Troy Montoya, 24, of Espanola, N.M., and Shawn Michael Goodrum, Jr., 20, of Pima, Ariz., were arrested in Oct. 2016, on a criminal complaint charging them with offenses arising out of the robbery of the People’s Bank located at 121 East Main Street in Red River, N.M., on Oct. 6, 2016.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Montoya and Goodrum have entered pleas of not guilty to the charges in the indictment and are pending trial, which currently is scheduled for April 7, 2017 in Santa Fe, N.M. Charges in criminal complaints and indictment are merely accusations. Criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Patricia Kay Portillo, 54, of Carrizozo, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 46 months in prison for her conviction on methamphetamine trafficking charges. Portillo will be on supervised release for three years following her prison sentence.

 

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

 

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

 

Portillo was arrested in Dec. 2015, on an indictment charging her with conspiracy and distributing methamphetamine in Otero County, N.M., on Aug. 23, 2015, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Oct. 6, 2015, and the use of a communication facility in the commission of a drug trafficking crime on Sept. 4, 2015. On May 13, 2016, Portillo entered a guilty plea to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and admitted that on Oct. 6, 2015, she had 41 grams of pure methamphetamine concealed on her person which she planned to distribute to others.

 

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

 

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Josue Duarte, 31, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to a methamphetamine trafficking charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

 

Duarte and co-defendant Johnny Flores, 23, were arrested during an ATF-led investigation that resulted in the filing of 59 federal indictments and one federal criminal complaint charging 104 Bernalillo County residents with federal firearms and narcotics trafficking offenses. The investigation began in mid-April 2016, when ATF personnel from throughout the country joined forces with federal, state, county and local law enforcement agencies in New Mexico to combat the high rate of violent crime in the Albuquerque metropolitan area. The investigators utilized a number of investigative techniques, including undercover operations, historical investigation and targeting of multi-convicted felons in possession of firearms.

 

The investigation was undertaken in support of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies collaborate with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution primarily based on their prior criminal convictions with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

 

Duarte and Flores were charged in a four-count indictment filed on Aug. 9, 2016, with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine from July 18, 2016 through July 26, 2016, and distribution of methamphetamine on July 22, 2016; Flores with distribution of methamphetamine on July 18, 2016; and Duarte with distribution of methamphetamine on July 26, 2016. According to the indictment, the offenses took place in Bernalillo County.

 

During today’s proceedings, Duarte pled guilty to a felony information charging him with distribution of methamphetamine. In entering the guilty plea, Duarte admitted that on July 26, 2016, he arranged the sale of and sold methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement agent. At sentencing, Duarte faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

 

To date, 31 of the 104 defendants, including Flores, have entered guilty pleas, and three defendants have been sentenced. The remaining defendants, have entered not guilty pleas. Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the ATF and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul H. Spiers.

ALBUQUERQUE – Ben E. Aragon, 26, an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Isleta who resides in Bosque Farms, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to assaulting a federal officer. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Aragon will be sentenced within the range of 18 to 24 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

 

Aragon was charged by criminal complaint on July 28, 2016, with assaulting an officer of the Isleta Pueblo Tribal Police Department, who is commissioned as a Special Law Enforcement Officer by the BIA’s Office of Justice Services. According to the complaint, Aragon assaulted the officer while he was attempting to arrest Aragon on tribal charges of aggravated assault and criminal trespass, and an outstanding tribal arrest warrant.

 

Aragon was indicted on Sept. 13, 2016, and charged with assaulting a federal officer who was engaged in the performance of her official duties on July 23, 2016, on the Isleta Pueblo in Bernalillo County, N.M.

 

During today’s proceedings, Aragon pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on July 23, 2016, he assaulted a federal officer by resisting arrest and kicking the officer in her legs causing bruises while the officer was arresting him for tribal offenses. Aragon remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Isleta Pueblo Tribal Police Department and the Northern Pueblos Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Raquel Ruiz-Velez.

ALBUQUERQUE – Joan D. Mobley, 54, of Socorro, N.M., pled guilty yesterday in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a false statement charge and two aggravated identity theft charges. The guilty plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney and Cordale Lamb of Denver Field Division of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

 

Mobley is a former employee of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). She began working for the IRS in 1986 and was a revenue agent at the IRS office in Albuquerque at the time she committed the crimes to which she pleaded guilty. As a revenue agent, Mobley was responsible for performing audits of small businesses and self-employed taxpayers.

 

On Jan. 3, 2014, a federal grand jury filed a 28-count indictment charging Mobley with 14 counts of making false statements and 14 counts of aggravated identity theft. According to the indictment, between Jan. 2011 and Dec. 2011, Mobley falsely stated and represented to the IRS that certain taxpayers either had consented to extending the time for assessing employment taxes or agreed to the collection and assessment of additional taxes. The indictment also alleged that Mobley used the identification of those taxpayers in making those false statements without obtaining consent.

 

During yesterday’s proceedings, Mobley pled guilty to one false statements charge and two aggravated identity theft charges. In her plea agreement, Mobley acknowledged that while she was employed as a revenue agent for the IRS and was responsible for conducting audits of small businesses, she was assigned to audit a business located in California. Mobley acknowledged that, instead of completing the audit as required, she falsified official records to indicate that she had completed the audit. Mobley also acknowledged signing the name of the business’s president on the records even though she did not have permission to do so.

 

Mobley falsified these records knowing that they constituted false statements under federal laws and concerned matters that were within the jurisdiction of the IRS. One of the records falsified by Mobley was dated Jan. 10, 2011, and stated that a representative of the aforementioned California-based business had agreed to an extension of time to assess employment taxes. Another record was dated April 7, 2011 and falsely stated that the business had agreed to the assessment and collection of additional taxes. Mobley falsified these records knowing that no representative of the business had agreed either to the extension or to the assessment and collection of additional taxes. She acknowledged falsifying the records while in New Mexico.

 

At sentencing, Mobley faces up to five years of imprisonment on the false statements charge and a mandatory two-year term of imprisonment on each of the aggravated identity theft charges that must be served consecutive to any sentence imposed on the false statements charge. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled. Under the terms of her plea agreement, Mobley is required to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $39,738.32.

 

This case was investigated by the Denver Field Division of TIGTA and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Sean J. Sullivan.

ALBUQUERQUE – Martin Huertta, 43, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced this morning in federal court to a 108-month term of imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release for his armed bank robbery conviction.

 

Huertta was arrested in March 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him and four co-defendants, Greg Miera, 51, Christian Herrera, 20, Christopher Gallegos, 33, and Isaiah Gallegos, 20, all of Albuquerque, with bank robbery. According to the complaint, a source identified the defendants as the individuals involved in robbing the US Bank branch located at 5620 Wyoming Blvd. NE in Albuquerque, on March 30, 2016. Albuquerque Police Department (APD) officers conducted surveillance as a vehicle with four men pulled up to the US Bank on the afternoon of March 30, 2016. Three of the men remained in the vehicle while the fourth entered the bank, threatened to shoot the bank employees, and demanded that two bank tellers place cash into a plastic bag.

 

Huertta, Miera, Herrera, Isaiah Gallegos and Christopher Gallegos were indicted on April 27, 2016, and charged with bank robbery. On Sept. 9, 2016, Huertta entered a guilty plea to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement

 

Three of Huertta’s co-defendants also have entered guilty pleas. Miera entered a guilty plea on Oct. 11, 2016, Christopher Gallegos entered a guilty plea on Feb. 13, 2017, and Herrera entered a guilty plea on Feb. 24, 2017. At sentencing, Herrera, Christopher Gallegos and Miera each face a statutory maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison. They remain in custody pending sentencing hearings.

 

Isaiah Gallegos has entered a plea of not guilty to the indictment and is scheduled for trial on April 24, 2017. Charges in criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusations and 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 Letitia C. Simms is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney released the following statement regarding yesterday’s fatal shooting of Houston Largo, a Police Officer with the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety, who was commissioned as a Special Federal Officer by the BIA’s Office of Justice Services:

 

“Officer Houston Largo was a dedicated law enforcement officer and a courageous public servant. Officer Largo leaves behind an enduring legacy that will live on in the lives he touched through the work that the BIA, the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and all tribal police officers continue to perform to safeguard and protect our tribal communities. His loss is a tragic reminder that the work of our law enforcement officers is profoundly heroic and deserving of our most emphatic support. The thoughts and prayers of the law enforcement community are with Officer Largo’s family and loved ones during this difficult time. And as we go forward, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office intend to honor his service and his sacrifice by continuing to fight for the values he protected every day, and to protect the tribal communities for whom he gave his life.”

ALBUQUERQUE – Earlier today, a U.S. Magistrate Judge sitting in Albuquerque, N.M., found probable cause to support a criminal complaint charging Jonathan D. Lueras, 30, of Albuquerque, N.M., with assaulting a federal officer. The Magistrate Judge also entered an order requiring Lueras to remain in custody pending trial.

 

According to the criminal complaint, Lueras, a non-Indian, was arrested on March 9, 2017, for assaulting an officer of the Isleta Pueblo Tribal Police Department, who is commissioned as a Special Law Enforcement Officer by the BIA’s Office of Justice Services. Lueras allegedly committed the assault on the Isleta Pueblo in Bernalillo County, N.M., while resisting arrest and attempting to gain control of the officer’s firearm. During the alleged assault, Lueras struggled with the officer on the ground and attempted to flee several times.

 

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

 

This case was investigated by the Isleta Pueblo Tribal Police Department and the Northern Pueblos Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Spindle.

ALBUQUERQUE – Maynard Shirley, 38, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Kirtland, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 42 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction arising out of the March 21, 2015 death of a Navajo man.

 

According to court filings, Maynard Shirley and his brothers Elijah Shirley, 32, and Michael Shirley, 32, were charged with murdering a Navajo man and assaulting the murder victim’s father. The defendants committed the crimes on March 21, 2015, in Fruitland, N.M., in San Juan County, N.M. The three men were indicted on April 14, 2015, and charged with killing the victim by stabbing him with a knife, and assaulting the victim’s father with a dangerous weapon and causing him to suffer serious bodily injury.

 

Maynard Shirley pled guilty on Dec. 13, 2016, to a felony information charging him with being an accessory after the fact to the offense of voluntary manslaughter. In entering the guilty plea, Maynard Shirley admitted that from March 21, 2015 through March 23, 2015, he aided Elijah Shirley despite knowledge that Elijah Shirley had committed the crime of voluntary manslaughter. Maynard Shirley admitted helping Elijah Shirley by transporting him, securing housing for him, and burning his vehicle.

 

Elijah Shirley entered a guilty plea on Sept. 21, 2016, to a felony information charging him with voluntary manslaughter, and admitted stabbing and killing the victim in the heat of passion. Elijah Shirley was sentenced on Jan. 24, 2017, to 121 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

 

On Sept. 21, 2016, Michael Shirley also pled guilty to a felony information charging him with being an accessory after the fact, and admitted that after the victim was killed, he assisted Elijah Shirley by burning a BMW vehicle and Maynard Shirley by helping him secure housing and transportation. Michael Shirley was sentenced on Jan. 24, 2017, to 63 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

 

The case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Shiprock and Kayenta offices of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Niki Tapia-Brito and Nicholas Marshall.

ALBUQUERQUE – Manuel Herrera, 50, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

 

Herrera was arrested in Jan. 2017, on an indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on Sept. 11, 2016, in Bernalillo County, N.M. According to the indictment, Herrera was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his prior felony convictions for forgery, aggravated driving while intoxicated, bribery or intimidation of a witness, possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of a controlled substance, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

 

During today’s proceedings, Herrera entered a guilty plea to the indictment, and admitted possessing a firearm and ammunition on Sept. 11, 2016. At sentencing, Herrera faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel A. Hurtado is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Steve Romero, 32, of Santa Fe County, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a misdemeanor criminal trespass charge, announced U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and Special Agent in Charge William McClure of District IV of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services. Immediately after entering the guilty plea, Romero was sentenced to 90 days of imprisonment to be followed by a year of supervised release.

 

Romero was charged in a criminal complaint on June 14, 2016, with a misdemeanor criminal trespass offense. The complaint alleged that in Feb. 2016, the Nambe Tribal Council banished Romero, a non-Indian, from entering any land within the Nambe Pueblo boundaries. According to the complaint, Romero had reentered Nambe Pueblo land on four occasions between April 2016 and June 2016, in violation of the Pueblo’s banishment resolution.

 

During today’s proceedings, Romero pled guilty to a misdemeanor information charging him with criminal trespass. In entering the guilty plea, Romero admitted that he was served with a Tribal Resolution on March 7, 2016, excluding and banishing him from the Nambe Pueblo. Romero further admitted that on June 13, 2016, he entered and remained on the Nambe Pueblo for the fourth time after the Nambe Pueblo Tribal Council issued the Tribal Resolution.

 

This case was investigated by the Northern Pueblos Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Raquel Ruiz-Velez.

ALBUQUERQUE – Fernando Gomez-Campos, 21, of El Paso, Texas, pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a heroin trafficking charge.

 

Gomez-Campos and his co-defendants Gonzalo Montenegro-Coronel, 31, a Mexican national, and Esther Ordonez, 48, Miguel Ordonez, 23, and Reydecel Lopez-Ordonez, 22, all of Albuquerque, were charged in a 13-count indictment that was filed on Dec. 2, 2015. The indictment charged the defendants with participating in a heroin trafficking conspiracy between Nov. 2014 and Sept. 2015. The indictment also charged the defendants with distributing heroin on eight occasions between Nov. 2014 and Sept. 2015, and with using telephones to facilitate drug trafficking crimes. It also charged Esther Ordonez, Miguel Ordonez and Montenegro-Coronel with maintaining a residence for the purpose of manufacturing and distributing heroin between Nov. 2014 and Sept. 2015. According to the indictment, the defendants committed the crimes in Bernalillo County, N.M.

 

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

 

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

 

Lopez-Ordonez pled guilty on Oct. 19, 2016, to one count of distributing heroin and two counts of using a communication device to further the commission of a drug trafficking crime, and admitted using a telephone on March 19, 2015 and June 10, 2015, to arrange heroin sales. Lopez-Ordonez also admitted selling 568 grams of heroin to an undercover agent in exchange for $26,000 on July 9 and 10, 2015. Lopez-Ordonez faces a statutory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 40 years in prison when he is sentenced on March 30, 2017. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Lopez-Ordonez will forfeit more than $10,000 in drug proceeds to the United States; he also will forfeit his ownership interest in a residence in southwest Albuquerque.

 

The three remaining co-defendants have entered not guilty pleas to the indictment and are pending trial. Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and the HIDTA Region I Drug Task Force as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program, which combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations. The HIDTA Region I Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Albuquerque Police Department, Rio Rancho Police Department, Valencia County Sheriff’s Office, Pueblo of Pojoaque Tribal Police Department and DEA. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.

 

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

 

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Cory Werito, 33, of Farmington, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a health care fraud charge. The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and Special Agent in Charge Waldemar Rodriguez of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso.

 

Werito and his co-defendant, Rosita Toledo, 47, of Kirtland, N.M., were charged in a ten-count indictment that was filed on June 15, 2016. The indictment included nine health care fraud charges against Werito and Toledo, and an aggravated currency structuring charge against Werito. According to the indictment, the health care fraud charges were based on the defendants’ roles in creating and operating a medical transportation company, CW Transport, a New Mexico company located in Farmington that provided non-emergency medical transportation to Arizona Medicaid recipients, funded by reimbursement payments from the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), a healthcare benefit program. The indictment alleged that over the course of two years between 2011 and 2013, CW Transport collected more than $1.9 million in Medicaid reimbursements from AHCCCS by submitting more than 18,000 claims for reimbursement, the vast majority of which were wholly or substantially false and fraudulent.

 

Count 10 of the indictment, the aggravated currency structuring charge, alleged that Werito conducted financial transactions involving the proceeds of the health care fraud in a manner that avoided the filing of Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs). CTRs are reports which must be filed by financial institutions on transactions involving more than $10,000 during any business day and are used by law enforcement authorities to uncover a broad range of illegal activities including money laundering. According to the indictment, from Aug. 2011 to July 2013, Werito conducted at least 200 cash withdrawals, each for several thousands of dollars but less than $10,000 and totaling at least $800,000, to avoid the filing of CTRs.

 

The indictment included forfeiture provisions seeking an order requiring Werito and Toledo to forfeit to the United States at least $1,959,405, the proceeds allegedly derived from the health care fraud alleged in Counts 1 through 9 of the indictment.

 

During today’s proceedings, Werito pled guilty to Count 1 of the indictment, charging him with committing health care fraud. Werito admitted, as the sole owner of CW Transport, he submitted approximately 18,765 claims for reimbursement to AHCCCS between July 2011 and July 2013. Because the claims were grouped in 140 invoices, Werito received 140 payments from AHCCCS in an amount totaling $1,959,405. Werito admitted submitting the claims for reimbursement as part of a scheme to defraud AHCCCS because he either never provided or provided in a substantially different manner many of the services for which he sought and received reimbursement.

 

At sentencing, Werito faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Werito also will be required to pay $1,218,165 in restitution. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

 

Toledo has entered a plea of not guilty to the charges in the indictment and is pending trial which has yet to be scheduled. Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

 

The Albuquerque office of HSI investigated the case with assistance from the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System and New Mexico Office of the Attorney General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Peña is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Rogelio Santiago Quiroa-Valdez, 25, a Mexican national unlawfully in the United States, was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 60 months in prison for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction. Quiroa-Valdez will be deported after he completes his prison sentence.

 

Quiroa-Valdez and his co-defendants, Luis Rangel Arce, 45, and Miguel Rangel Arce, 36, also Mexican nationals, were amongst eight San Juan County residents charged with federal narcotics trafficking offenses as the result of a multi-agency investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the HIDTA Region II Narcotics Task Force into methamphetamine trafficking on the Navajo Indian Reservation in northwestern New Mexico. The three men were arrested in May 2016 during a law enforcement operation that included the execution of two search warrants at residences in Shiprock and Kirtland, N.M.

 

The investigation leading to the federal charges was initiated in response to an increase in methamphetamine trafficking on the Navajo Indian Reservation in the Shiprock area, and was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program. This Department of Justice program combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations. investigation identified eight defendants, who were charged in five indictments, through a series of methamphetamine purchases by undercover law enforcement officers. Law enforcement authorities seized more than two and a half pounds of methamphetamine, ten firearms, approximately $1,600 in cash, and a vehicle during the investigation.

 

Quiroa-Valdez, Miguel Rangel Arce and Luis Rangel Arce were charged with methamphetamine trafficking charges in a seven-count indictment filed in April 2016. The indictment charged the three men with participating in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy between Nov. 2015 and March 2016, and with distributing methamphetamine on six occasions between Jan. 2016 and March 2016. According to the indictment, the defendants committed the crimes in San Juan County, N.M.

 

Quiroa-Valdez pled guilty on Aug. 30, 2016, and admitted that on Feb. 24, 2016, he distributed 85.5 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover officer.

 

On Aug. 30, 2016, Miguel Rangel Arce pled guilty to participating in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy, and admitted that from Nov. 24, 2015 through March 17, 2016, he conspired to distribute between 500 grams and 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine to an undercover officer. Miguel Rangel Arce was sentenced on March 7, 2017 to 120 months in prison; he will be deported after completing his prison sentence.

 

Luis Rangel Arce pled guilty on Aug. 16, 2016, to distributing methamphetamine on Jan. 11 and 14, 2016. In entering the guilty plea, Luis Rangel Arce admitted distributing 63.17 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover officer on Jan. 11, 2016, and distributing 55.3 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover officer on Jan. 14, 2016. Luis Rangel Arce was sentenced on Jan. 5, 2017, to 87 months in prison, and will be deported after completing his prison sentence.

 

These cases were investigated by HSI’s Albuquerque office and the HIDTA Region II Narcotics Task Force with assistance from the Farmington office of the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, and BIA’s Division of Drug Enforcement, Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety, New Mexico State Police, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, Farmington Police Department, and New Mexico National Guard. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elaine Y. Ramirez is prosecuting the cases.

 

The HIDTA Region II Narcotics Task Force is comprised of officers and investigators from the Farmington Police Department, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, Bloomfield Police Department, Aztec Police Department and HSI Albuquerque, and is part of 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 – Julia Perez-Vega, 48, a Mexican national from Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, made her initial appearance this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., on a heroin trafficking charge. Perez-Vega remains in federal custody pending a preliminary hearing and a detention hearing, both of which are scheduled for March 10, 2017.

 

Perez-Vega is charged in a criminal complaint with possession of heroin with intent to distribute following her arrest yesterday at the Greyhound Bus Station in Albuquerque. The DEA arrested Perez-Vega after agents allegedly found approximately 3.6 kilograms (8.064 pounds) of heroin in her baggage during a consensual search.

 

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

 

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

 

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Ismael Vargas, 29, of Belen, N.M., entered a guilty plea today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a heroin trafficking charge. At the time he committed the offense, Vargas was an inmate at the Sandoval County Detention Center. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Vargas faces up to 41 months in federal prison to be followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

 

Former Corrections Officer at Sandoval County Detention Center Christopher Gonzales, 20, of Rio Rancho, N.M., and Fabrienne Rosalinda Morales, 39, of Peralta, N.M., were arrested in Jan. 2016, on a five-count indictment charging them with conspiracy. The indictment also charged Gonzales with possession of heroin and suboxone with intent to distribute, and Morales with distribution of heroin and suboxone. The indictment was superseded on Feb. 9, 2016, to add Vargas, who was charged with conspiracy. According to the superseding indictment, the three defendants committed the crimes charged on Aug. 2, 2015, in Sandoval County, N.M.

 

During today’s proceedings, Vargas pled guilty to Count 1 of the superseding indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute heroin. In entering the guilty plea, Vargas admitted that on Aug. 2, 2015, while he was an inmate at the Sandoval County Detention Center, he arranged for heroin to be delivered to the jail. Vargas further admitted that he facilitated the payment of money to a corrections officer to get the heroin into the jail. Vargas remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

 

On Feb. 28, 2017, Gonzales pled guilty to possessing heroin with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Gonzales admitted that on Aug. 2, 2015, while he was working as an officer at the Sandoval County Detention Center, he brought heroin to the Detention Center with the intention of delivering it to an inmate. A sentencing hearing for Gonzales is currently scheduled for May 31, 2017.

 

On Jan. 13, 2017, Morales pled guilty to distributing heroin. In entering the guilty plea, Morales admitted that on Aug. 2, 2015, she smuggled heroin into the Sandoval County Detention Center and gave it to a corrections officer. Under the terms of her plea agreement, Morales will be sentenced to not more than 24 months in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court. A sentencing hearing for Morales is currently scheduled for April 17, 2017.

 

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

 

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Lionel Gerardo Rojas, 72, of Lake Forest, Calif., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a narcotics trafficking charge arising out of a 4.6-pound heroin seizure on Aug. 31, 2016.

 

Rojas was arrested on Aug. 31, 2016 and charged by a criminal complaint with a heroin trafficking offense after the DEA seized approximately 2.1 kilograms (4.62 pounds) of heroin during an interdiction investigation at the Greyhound Bus Station in Albuquerque. The heroin was concealed in three bundles inside Rojas’ backpack. Rojas subsequently was indicted on Sept. 27, 2016, and charged with possessing heroin with intent to distribute in Bernalillo County, N.M.

 

During today’s proceedings, Rojas pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of heroin with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Rojas admitted that on Aug. 31, 2016, he transported three bundles of heroin in a backpack from Phoenix, Ariz., to New Mexico on a Greyhound bus. Rojas further admitted that he had intended to deliver the heroin to Columbus, Ohio, for further distribution.

 

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

 

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

 

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Noe Urias, 36, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to a methamphetamine trafficking charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

 

Urias and his codefendants Angelica Marie Santiesteban, 40, and Patrick Zamora, 22, were arrested during an ATF-led investigation that resulted in the filing of 59 federal indictments and one federal criminal complaint charging 104 Bernalillo County residents with federal firearms and narcotics trafficking offenses. The investigation began in mid-April 2016, when ATF personnel from throughout the country joined forces with federal, state, county and local law enforcement agencies in New Mexico to combat the high rate of violent crime in the Albuquerque metropolitan area. The investigators utilized a number of investigative techniques, including undercover operations, historical investigation and targeting of multi-convicted felons in possession of firearms.

 

The investigation was undertaken in support of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies collaborate with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution primarily based on their prior criminal convictions with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

 

Urias and Santiesteban were charged in a four-count indictment filed on June 30, 2016, with methamphetamine trafficking offenses. The indictment was superseded on July 28, 2016, to include Zamora and an additional methamphetamine trafficking charge. The superseding indictment charged all three codefendants with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine from May 2, 2016 through June 20, 2016, and distribution of methamphetamine on June 20, 2016; Urias and Santiesteban with distribution of methamphetamine on May 2, 2016 and May 19, 2016; and Urias with distribution of methamphetamine on May 18, 2016. According to the superseding indictment, the offenses took place in Bernalillo County.

 

During today’s proceedings, Urias pled guilty to Count 3 of the superseding indictment charging him with distribution of methamphetamine and admitted that on May 18, 2016, he sold methamphetamine in exchange for money. At sentencing, Urias faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

 

To date, 30 of the 104 defendants have entered guilty pleas including Santiesteban and three have been sentenced. The remaining defendants, have entered not guilty pleas. Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

 

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Joe Ray Alires, 42, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition, announced U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry of the Phoenix Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

 

Alires was charged by an indictment filed on Nov. 19, 2014, with being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition on June 26, 2014, in Bernalillo County, N.M. Alires was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his status as a convicted felon. According to the indictment, on June 26, 2014, Alires had at least ten felony convictions, convictions for residential and commercial burglary, possession of a controlled substance, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of a deadly weapon or explosive by a prisoner.

 

During today’s proceedings, Alires pled guilty to the indictment under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and admitted to possessing a loaded pistol on June 26, 2014, despite his status as a convicted felon.

 

At sentencing, Alires faces up to ten years of imprisonment. However, if the court determines that Alires is an armed career criminal, Alires faces an enhanced sentenced of a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison. Alires remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

 

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Charleston Wauneka, 30, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in St. Michaels, Ariz., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 21 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on an assault charge.

 

Wauneka was arrested in Aug. 2016, on an indictment charging him with assault resulting in serious bodily injury. The indictment alleged that Wauneka committed the crime on Aug. 15, 2013, on the Navajo Reservation in McKinley County, N.M.

 

On Sept. 1, 2016, Wauneka pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on Aug. 15, 2013, he assaulted the victim by striking and kicking her, causing her to suffer serious bodily injury. More specifically, Wauneka admitted that his criminal conduct caused the victim to suffer fractured orbital bones around her left eye and hearing loss in her left ear.

 

This case was investigated by the Window Rock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Mease.

 

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