District of New Mexico
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Member of Pima Salt River Tribe Sentenced to Ten Years for Federal Child Sexual Abuse Conviction in New MexicoRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Patrick Watuema, 55, an enrolled member of the Pima Salt River Tribe in Ariz., was sentenced this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 120 months in prison followed by 20 years of supervised release for his aggravated child sexual abuse conviction. Watuema will be required to register as a sex offender when he completes his term of incarceration.
Watuema was arrested on May 5, 2014, on a criminal complaint alleging that he engaged in a sexual act with a child who had not attained the age of 12 years. Watuema subsequently was indicted on May 21, 2014, on an aggravated child sexual abuse charge. According to court filings, Watuema sexually assaulted a six-year-old Navajo child on April 30, 2014, in To’hajiilee, N.M., which is located in the Navajo Indian Reservation.
In entering his guilty plea on June 18, 2015, Watuema admitted sexually assaulting the six-year-old child victim on April 30, 2014. He also admitted to having unlawful sexual contact with the child victim on other occasions. Watuema acknowledged that the victim was under the age of 12 years at the time he committed the offense.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Crownpoint office of Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety with assistance from Albuquerque Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) at the University of New Mexico Hospital, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elaine Y. Ramirez.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
Las Cruces Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Heroin Trafficking and Firearms ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE — Jessie Manuel Pena, 32, of Las Cruces, N.M., was sentenced this morning in federal court in Las Cruces to 77 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on heroin trafficking and firearms charges.
Pena was arrested on April 22, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of heroin. According to the complaint, on July 19, 2013, in Doña Ana County, N.M., law enforcement officers located and arrested Pena on a state warrant for a probation violation and failure to appear. During a search incident to Pena’s arrest, the officers seized a loaded handgun from the waistband of Pena’s pants and approximately 11.4 grams of heroin from a pocket in Pena’s pants.
Pena was subsequently indicted on July 16, 2014, and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, possession of a firearm and ammunition by a user and addict of a controlled substance, and simple possession of heroin. Pena was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of distribution of marijuana, tampering with evidence, possession of a firearm or destructive device by a felon, possession of a controlled substance, residential burglary and larceny.
On Sept. 3, 2014, Pena pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Las Cruces Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo prosecuted this case pursuant to the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative.
The HOPE Initiative is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center that is partnering with the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative with the overriding goal of reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in the District of New Mexico. The HOPE Initiative comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. The law enforcement component of the HOPE Initiative is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative.
Carlsbad Woman Sentenced for Violating Federal Narcotics Trafficking LawsRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE — Monique Maurice Martinez, 35, of Carlsbad, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 84 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for her methamphetamine trafficking conviction.
Martinez was charged in a criminal complaint on April 23, 2014, with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute in Eddy County, N.M., on March 18, 2014. According to the complaint, agents with the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force executed a search warrant at Martinez’s residence where they seized approximately 174.6 grams of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and $2,015.00 in cash. Martinez was subsequently indicted on the same charge on Nov. 12, 2014.
Martinez pled guilty to a felony information on July 1, 2015, and admitted that on March 18, 2014, she possessed 166.05 grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Martinez further admitted that the methamphetamine, which was in her purse, was discovered during the execution of a search warrant at her residence by the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force and the Carlsbad Police Department.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA, the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force and the Carlsbad Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy M. Castellano of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office prosecuted the case.
The Pecos Valley Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, Carlsbad Police Department and Artesia Police Department and is part of the HIDTA Region VI Drug Task Force. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.
U.S. Department of Justice Awards Law Enforcement Hiring Grants to Help Build Trust, Reduce Violence and Protect SchoolsRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Today, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) funding awards to two cities and one Pueblo in the District of New Mexico, aimed at funding 16 law enforcement positions. Over $107 million will be awarded nationally, through the COPS Hiring Program (CHP), including $1,921,987.00 for three police departments in New Mexico.
The list of this year’s grantees includes: the Hobbs Police Department which was awarded $625,000.00 to fund five officers; the Las Cruces Police Department which was awarded $1,125,000.00 to fund nine officers; and the Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Police Department which was awarded $171,987.00 to fund two officers.
“The COPS Office is pleased to assist local law enforcement agencies throughout the country in addressing their most critical public safety issues,” said Ronald L. Davis, Director of the COPS Office. “These grants are not simply about putting more officers on the street, they are about expanding the capacity of law enforcement agencies to engage in community policing.”
CHP provides grants to state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to hire or rehire community policing officers. The program provides salaries and benefits for officer and deputy hires for three years.
“Every additional officer on the street helps keep our communities safe,” said U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez. “The 16 officers who will be hired with this money will help fight crime in Hobbs, Las Cruces and the Pueblo of Laguna and improve the lives of the people who live there.”
Priority consideration was given this year to agencies that selected any of the Building Trust focus areas or School Based Policing through School Resource Officers. All applicants were encouraged to refer to the Report of the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing for suggested actions to incorporate into their proposed community policing strategy.
The COPS Office is a federal agency responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. Since 1995, COPS has invested over $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of approximately 127,000 officers and provide a variety of knowledge resource products including publications, training, and technical assistance.
For the entire list of grantees and additional information about the 2015 COPS Hiring Program, visit the COPS website at www.cops.usdoj.gov.
U.S. Department of Justice Announces over $23.2 Million in Funding for Body Worn CamerasRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Attorney General Loretta Lynch today announced that the Justice Department has awarded grants totaling more than $23.2 million to 73 local and tribal agencies in 32 states to expand the use of body-worn cameras and explore their impact. The investment includes $19.3 million to purchase body-worn cameras, $2 million for training and technical assistance and $1.9 million to examine the impact of their use. The grants, awarded by the Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), are part of President Obama’s proposal to purchase 50,000 body-worn cameras for law enforcement agencies within three years.
“This vital pilot program is designed to assist local jurisdictions that are interested in exploring and expanding the use of body-worn cameras in order to enhance transparency, accountability and credibility,” said Attorney General Lynch. “The impact of body-worn cameras touches on a range of outcomes that build upon efforts to mend the fabric of trust, respect and common purpose that all communities need to thrive.”
The Albuquerque Police Department received a $250,000.00 grant. “As we support the men and women of APD in their work to protect our community, we are mindful that effective public safety depends not simply on taking criminals off the streets, but on winning – and keeping – the confidence of the people our officers are sworn to serve,” said U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez. “As the first police department to implement court-ordered reforms that include a body-worn camera program, this money will help APD implement reforms that will enhance officer interaction with the public and build community trust.”
The grants, which require a 50/50 in-kind or cash match, can be used to purchase equipment and require that applicants establish a strong implementation plan and a robust training policy before purchasing cameras. The long term costs associated with storing this information will be the financial responsibility of each local agency.
In addition to funds to help purchase body-worn cameras and train officers in their use, grants under the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA’s) Smart Policing Initiative will support police departments in Miami, Milwaukee, and Phoenix as they examine the impact of body-worn cameras on citizen complaints, internal investigations, privacy, community relationships and cost effectiveness. Each of these three departments will partner with a research institution to gain insight on the merits of deploying body-worn camera programs.
Lynch announced the award today during a White House Champions of Change event co-hosted by the Office of Justice Programs and the Community Oriented Policing Services Office (COPS). The event honored law enforcement officers and young people who are leading efforts to improve relationships between law enforcement and youth in their communities.BJA has launched a comprehensive online toolkit that consolidates research, promising practices, model policies and other tools that address issues surrounding body-worn cameras, including implementation requirements; image retention; concerns of policy makers, prosecutors, victim and privacy advocates; and community engagement and funding considerations. The toolkit is available at: https://www.bja.gov/bwc/.
OJP’s Bureau of Justice Statistics is collecting data on body-worn camera usage through surveys of law enforcement agencies. It is also designing data collection forms for future surveys of prosecutors and public defenders to measure how body-worn camera footage is being used by the courts in criminal cases.
For additional information about the BWC Pilot Implementation Program, visit
http://www.bja.gov/bwc/pdfs/BWCPIP-Award-Fact-Sheet.pdf.
About the Office of Justice Programs (OJP). OJP, headed by Assistant Attorney General Karol V. Mason, provides federal leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice and assist victims. OJP has six components: the Bureau -of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; the Office for Victims of Crime and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking. More information about OJP can be found at www.ojp.gov.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, Head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Delivers Remarks at Press Conference Announcing Ramah Navajo Chapter V. Jewell SettlementRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE—Today, the Department of Justice is pleased to announce a proposed settlement to resolve a nationwide class action brought by tribes and tribal contractors that had Indian Self Determination Act contracts with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. This is a preliminary resolution we submitted to the district court last night. If the settlement is approved by the court, it will bring to a close 25 years of litigation between the tribes and the federal government in a way that is fair and honorable to all the parties involved.
This agreement is a compromise that was long in the making – reached only after years of complex negotiations following the Supreme Court’s 2012 decision in Salazar v. Ramah Navajo Chapter. During that time, the parties have met repeatedly, working with expert accountants, auditors and statisticians to analyze thousands of contract documents. The result is a settlement that both sides can be proud of.
The proposed settlement will provide for a $940 million lump-sum payment to the class to resolve claims for contract support costs for the years 1994 through 2013. These are the tribes’ share of costs incurred in carrying out important federal programs that serve the well-being of members of the tribes. It establishes a fair and equitable system for distributing shares of this amount to each of the 645 class member tribes and tribal contractors. As a general rule, each tribal contractor that submits a claim will receive a share based on the amount of contract support costs it has incurred over the last 20 years. But the parties have also agreed to a minimum payment for each year that a self-determination contract existed with a tribe in order to ensure that no tribe is excluded from the benefit of this agreement.
I would like to extend a particular thanks to the three named plaintiffs – Ramah Navajo Chapter, Oglala Sioux Tribe and Pueblo of Zuni – for their efforts, and the efforts of class counsel on their behalf. This proposed settlement would not exist without their determination and tireless efforts over the last 25 years. I’d also like to thank the hard work of the attorneys at the Justice Department under the Civil Division’s Federal Programs Branch and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of New Mexico, as well as those at the Department of the Interior. Without them, a settlement of this scope and importance would not have been possible.
Before I conclude, I would like to emphasize that this agreement does more than simply resolve this pending litigation. It also is an embodiment of a stronger relationship between the United States and the sovereign tribal nations, a relationship that is stronger today than perhaps any time in history. It demonstrates how the central mission of the Department of Justice is to ensure that justice is done, and how our attorneys work tirelessly every day to achieve that goal.
Los Lunas Woman Sentenced to Two Years in Federal Prison for Aggravated Identity Theft ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Mitzi Marsh, 57, of Los Lunas, N.M., was sentenced yesterday afternoon in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to two years in prison followed by one year of supervised release for her conviction on conspiracy and identity theft charges. Marsh also was ordered to pay $90,938.65 in restitution to the businesses that were victims of her criminal conduct.
Marsh and her co-defendants, Jeremy Bacuccini, 37, of Albuquerque and Reese Chancellor, 33, of Santa Fe, N.M., were indicted in Nov. 2012, on identity theft, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy charges. According to the 11-count indictment, the three co-conspirators unlawfully used the identities of others to commit crimes in 2007 and 2008. The indictment alleged that the three co-conspirators used counterfeit access devices, like credit cards, opened in the names of others and without their permission to fraudulently obtain items valued at more than $1,000.00. Court filings indicate that the co-conspirators were responsible for $124,708.71 in losses sustained by the retailers.
Marsh pled guilty to Count 10 of the indictment, charging her with aggravated identity theft on April 29, 2015. In entering her guilty plea, Marsh admitted that on Dec. 23, 2007, she fraudulently opened a Costco account using a fake ID, for purchases totaling $6,148.32. However, under the terms of her plea agreement, Marsh was required to pay restitution based on all losses suffered as a result of all of Marsh’s criminal conduct.
On Aug. 2, 2013, Chancellor entered guilty pleas to Counts 3 and 7 of the indictment, charging him with conspiracy to commit identity theft, and Count 8, charging him with identity theft. In his plea agreement, Chancellor admitted that, while working at an Albuquerque apartment complex in Oct. 2007, he obtained unauthorized access to tenant files and used the names and identifiers of the tenants to make fake IDs and counterfeit checks. Chancellor further admitted that Bacuccini and Marsh used the fake IDs and counterfeit checks to make fraudulent purchases at numerous retailers, including Home Depot, Zales, Lowe’s, Costco, Sam’s Club and Sears, valued in aggregate at $124,708.71. Chancellor was sentenced on Nov. 7, 2013, to five months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Chancellor was also ordered to pay $127,705.71 in restitution to the businesses that were victims of his criminal conduct.
Bacuccini pleaded guilty on June 17, 2013, to Count 6 of the indictment, charging him with aggravated identity theft. In his plea agreement, Bacuccini admitted that, in Dec. 2007 and Jan. 2008, he used the names and personal identifiers of four individuals, which he obtained from Chancellor, to open accounts at businesses in Albuquerque and Santa Fe and make purchases. He also admitted using fake checks in the names of two of the individuals to make purchases at Albuquerque businesses. Bacuccini also admitted making fake checks using bank account numbers provided by Marsh, who worked at a physician’s office. Bacuccini acknowledged that he and Chancellor are jointly responsible for $30,431.70 in losses sustained by retailers as a result of their criminal conduct. Bacuccini was sentenced on Sept. 9, 2013, to two years in prison followed by one year of supervised release. Bacuccini was also ordered to pay $33,431.70 in restitution to the businesses that were victims of his criminal conduct.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly A. Brawley and Cynthia L. Weisman.
Interior, Justice Departments Announce $940 Million Landmark Settlement with Nationwide Class of Tribes and Tribal EntitiesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of the Interior (Interior) today announced a $940 million proposed settlement with a nationwide class of Native American Tribes and tribal entities that, if approved by the federal district court, would resolve a 25-year-old legal dispute related to contract support costs for tribal agencies. The proposed settlement would address claims that the United States contracted with tribes to run programs but did not pay the full amounts required by law.
“This landmark settlement represents another important step in the Obama Administration’s efforts to turn the page on past challenges in our government-to-government relationship with tribes,” said Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. “Tribal self-determination and self-governance will continue to be our North Star as we navigate a new chapter in this important relationship and we are committed to fully funding contract support costs so that tribal contracting can be more successful. Congress can and should make this happen. Today’s announcement resolves past claims and allows money wrapped up in litigation to be used more productively.”
The proposed settlement, announced today by Interior Secretary Jewell, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, would address claims that the government contracted with tribes and tribal agencies to run Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) programs like law enforcement, forest management, fire suppression, road maintenance, housing, federal education and other support programs, but failed to appropriate sufficient funds to pay the costs under the agreements. Native American tribal agencies manage these programs under the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975.
“The Department of Justice is pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to finally resolve this litigation that has spanned four administrations,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mizer. “This agreement was long in the making – reached only after years of complex negotiations – and both sides can be proud of the result.”
This proposed settlement was filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and will require court approval. The proposed settlement would resolve the government’s liability and avoid years of tedious contract-by-contract litigation that would require tens of thousands of hours of work by federal and tribal attorneys as well as expert auditors and accountants.
The claims arose because of a mismatch between federal self-determination laws and available appropriations. While the federal government has signed contracts that provided for certain amounts to cover administrative costs of implementing contracts – such as workers’ compensation costs for tribal employees – Congress capped appropriated funds available to pay for these costs. This funding gap was one of the sources of the claims, which were raised in a class action lawsuit filed in 1990.
“Time and again, we have seen that when a tribal government runs a federal program, the program is more successful and more responsive to the tribal community,” said Assistant Secretary Washburn. “Today’s proposed settlement, together with President Obama’s request for full, mandatory funding of tribal contract support costs in the future, removes one of the significant obstacles to tribal self-determination and self-governance. Tribes can now be confident that the federal government will pay sufficient costs to allow them to be successful in running federal programs.”
In 2012, the issue reached the Supreme Court, which ultimately agreed with the Tribes that the government was liable for the payments, regardless of whether Congress had appropriated adequate funds. Since 2012, the United States has been negotiating with tribal entities to find a fair and efficient resolution of this dispute and to pay the money owed.
In the president’s fiscal year 2016 budget request to Congress for the Departments of the Interior and Health and Human Services, the administration proposed a long-term solution to this persistent problem: mandatory, non-discretionary funding, beginning in fiscal year 2017, for contract support costs.
The proposed settlement marks another significant effort by the Obama Administration to address long-running litigation concerning federal policy in Indian Country, so that Tribes and the federal government can enjoy a more fruitful and constructive relationship in the future. Since 2010, the Departments of Justice and the Interior have settled the Cobell class action lawsuit, and more than 80 similar lawsuits brought by various American Indian tribes, alleging breach of trust for federal mismanagement of their financial assets and natural resources.
Crownpoint Man Sentenced to Prison for Failing to Update His Sex Offender RegistrationRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Ferlin Platero, 50, of Crownpoint, N.M., was sentenced this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 24 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for failing to comply with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and U.S. Marshal Conrad E. Candelaria.
SORNA, also known as the Adam Walsh Protection and Safety Act, requires that a convicted sex offender register in each jurisdiction where the offender resides, where the offender is employed, or where the offender is a student, and that the sex offender maintain current registrations.
Platero was arrested on Dec. 17, 2014, on a criminal complaint charging him with violating SORNA by failing to update his sex offender registration. On Jan. 8, 2015, Platero was indicted for failing to update his registration between July 1, 2014 and Dec. 9, 2014, in McKinley County, N.M.
According to court filings, Platero was convicted of aggravated sexual abuse in Nov. 1993. On Feb. 24, 2004, he registered as a sex offender in the State of Arizona and agreed to notify the sheriff of the county to which he moved if he were ever to move out of the county. Platero last registered as a sex offender on Oct. 26, 2012, in Ariz., and subsequently failed to notify the New Mexico Department of Public Safety or the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety that he was required to register as a sex offender when he moved to New Mexico
On April 28, 2015, Platero pled guilty to a felony information charging him with failing to update his registration in McKinley County, N.M. He entered the guilty plea without the benefit of a plea agreement.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Mease.
Crownpoint Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Assault ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Shiloh Y. McLemore, 36, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Crownpoint, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to assault charges.
McLemore was arrested on April 15, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm in Indian Country. The complaint alleged that on April 8, 2015, law enforcement officers were called to the campus of the Navajo Technical University (NTU), where McLemore had allegedly assaulted and battered a woman and had then barricaded himself inside an apartment on the NTU campus. The complaint further alleged that when approached by a second victim, a Navajo man, McLemore took out a hand gun, loaded a full magazine of bullets into the handgun and chambered a bullet while threatening the victim to get away from him.
McLemore was subsequently indicted on May 12, 2015, and charged with assault of a male victim with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm, assault of a female victim with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm, and using and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. The crimes charged took place on April 8, 2015, in McKinley County, N.M.
During today’s proceedings, McLemore pled guilty to two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon. In entering the guilty plea, McLemore admitted that on April 8, 2015, in Indian Country in McKinley County, he assaulted a male victim with a firearm with intent to do bodily harm. He also admitted assaulting a female victim with a shod foot with intent to do bodily harm.
This case was investigated by the Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Novaline Wilson.
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.
Cochiti Pueblo Man Charged with Robbing Bank in Rio Rancho in July 2015Read the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Marcelino Chalan, 27, of Cochiti Pueblo, N.M., appeared in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., this morning on a criminal complaint charging him with bank robbery. During the hearing, the court found probable cause to support the charge in the criminal complaint.
Chalan was arrested yesterday on a criminal complaint charging him with robbing the Wells Fargo Bank branch inside the Albertson’s supermarket located at 3301 Southern Blvd. in Rio Rancho, N.M., on July 20, 2015. The complaint alleges that Chalan robbed the bank by handing a handwritten note with a robbery demand to a bank teller. The teller complied with Chalan’s written and verbal robbery demands and handed money over to Chalan. Chalan left the scene in a vehicle that appeared to be driven by a female. The investigation into Chalan began after the FBI received a tip identifying Chalan as the bank robber.
If convicted of the crime charged in the criminal complaint, Chalan faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations. All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI, the Rio Rancho Police Department, the Albuquerque, Police Department and the Cochiti Pueblo Tribal Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Brawley is prosecuting the case.
Albuquerque Man Charged with Violating Federal Firearms LawsRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Pete Pasqual Chavez, 36, of Albuquerque, N.M., entered a not guilty plea today in federal court to a felon in possession of a firearm charge. Chavez was ordered detained pending trial based on judicial findings that he poses a risk of flight and a danger to the community.
Chavez was arrested yesterday on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on Sept. 14, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M. The complaint alleges that on Sept. 14, 2015, officers of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) responded to the La Quinta Inn on San Antonio Blvd. in Albuquerque after Chavez allegedly told hotel personnel that he had just shot a person who was breaking into his vehicle. Upon arrival the APD officers found a firearm under Chavez’s vehicle. Thereafter the officers executed search warrants for Chavez’s hotel room and vehicle. In the vehicle, the officers found a single projectile that was removed from the inside of the passenger door and a box of Perfecta .45 caliber ammunition. In Chavez’s hotel room the officers found four rounds of Perfecta .45 caliber ammunition. In the bushes outside Chavez’s room, the officers found a firearm loaded with ten rounds of Perfect .45 caliber ammunition.
Chavez was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition on Sept. 14, 2015, because he previously had been convicted of shooting at or from a motor vehicle, and attempted trafficking of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, and possession of a controlled substance in the Second Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico. Chavez also had previously been convicted for using a telephone to facilitate a drug trafficking crime in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico.
If convicted of the crime charged in the criminal complaint, Chavez faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. If the court determines that Chavez is an armed career criminal, he faces an enhanced sentence of a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison to a maximum of life imprisonment. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations. All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and APD. Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman Cairns is prosecuting the case.
This case is being prosecuted as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible. Because New Mexico’s violent crime rates, on a per capita basis, are amongst the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community is collaborating to target repeat offenders from counties with the highest violent crime rates, including Bernalillo County, under this initiative.
*******media Advisory*******Read the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Officials from the Department of Justice and Department of the Interior (Interior) will hold a press conference on THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2015, to announce a landmark settlement with a nationwide class of tribes and tribal entities.
WHO: Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer -Head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division
U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez of the District of New Mexico
DOI Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn
President David Jose of Ramah Navajo Chapter
President John Yellowbird Steele of Oglala Sioux Tribe
Governor Val R. Panteah Sr. of Pueblo of Zuni
Michael P. Gross, M.P. Gross Law Firm P.C.
C. Bryant Rogers, partner in VanAmberg, Rogers, Yepa, Abeita, Gomez and Works LLP
Lloyd B. Miller, partner in Sonosky Chambers Sachse Miller & Munson
WHEN: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2015 11:00 a.m. MDT / 1:00 p.m. EDT
WHERE: U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of New Mexico
201 Third Street NW
10th Floor Multi-Media Room (Reception on Ninth Floor)
Albuquerque, NM 87102
OPEN PRESS
NOTE: All media must present government-issued photo I.D. (such as a driver’s license) as well as valid media credentials (which must be worn around the neck or pinned to clothing at all times). Media may begin to arrive at 10:00 a.m. MDT. Inquiries regarding logistics should be directed to Alyssa Ferda at 505-224-1480 or [email protected].
Santa Fe Man Sentenced to 130 Months in Federal Prison for Crack Cocaine Trafficking ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Matthew J. Holmes, 31, of Santa Fe, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 130 months in prison for his cocaine base trafficking conviction. Holmes will be on supervised release for four years after completing his term of imprisonment. The court also entered an order requiring Holmes to forfeit $4,146.00 found in Holmes’ possession when he was arrested.
Holmes was arrested on Feb. 24, 2015, and charged in a criminal complaint with possession of cocaine base, more commonly known as “crack” or “crack cocaine,” with intent to distribute. According to the complaint, on Feb. 24, 2014, the Santa Fe Police Department (SFPD) received information that Holmes had an outstanding state arrest warrant. Based on that information, SFPD officers initiated a traffic stop on Holmes’ vehicle. After a brief foot pursuit, the officers were able to apprehend Holmes. At the time of his arrest, Holmes possessed a distribution quantity of crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia. Holmes subsequently was indicted and charged with possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute.
On Feb. 17, 2015, Holmes pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on Feb. 24, 2014, he possessed 74.3 grams of crack cocaine in three plastic bags and $4,146.00 in cash. Holmes also admitted that he possessed the drugs with the intention of distributing it to others.
This case was investigated by the Santa Fe office of the FBI and the HIDTA Region III Narcotics Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David M. Walsh and Norman Cairns.
The HIDTA Region III Narcotics Task Force is comprised of officers from the New Mexico State Police, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office and the Santa Fe Police Department. 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.
Roswell Man Sentenced to 84 Months in Prison for Violating Federal Drug Trafficking and Firearms LawsRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Gabriel Gonzales, 26, of Roswell, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 84 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for violating the federal drug trafficking and firearms laws.
Gonzales was arrested on Dec. 1, 2014, in Springer, N.M., on an indictment charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, using and carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a person who had been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. The charges alleged in the indictment took place on Dec. 2, 2013, in Chaves County, N.M. At the time of his arrest, Gonzales was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of the misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, that being battery against a household member.
On March 12, 2015, Gonzales pled guilty to Counts 1 and 3 of the indictment charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. In entering the guilty plea, Gonzales admitted that on Dec. 2, 2013, he was pulled over by law enforcement officers for a traffic violation, and during a consensual search of his vehicle, officers found approximately 34.6 grams of methamphetamine and a handgun inside the vehicle.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA and the Roswell Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy M. Castellano prosecuted the case.
Rio Rancho Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Unlawful Possession of Firearm and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Terrance Rinaldi, 32, of Rio Rancho, N.M., was sentenced this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 36 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. He will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.
Rinaldi was arrested on Oct. 27, 2014, on an indictment charging him with unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition on Aug. 18, 2014, in Sandoval County, N.M. At the time Rinaldi was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
On May 14, 2015, Rinaldi pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Rio Rancho Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Walsh prosecuted the case.
Navajo Man from Tseyatoh, N.M., Sentenced to Federal Prison for Involuntary Manslaughter ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Almundo Cruz Singer, 28 was sentenced this afternoon in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 75 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his involuntary manslaughter conviction.
Singer, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Tseyatoh, N.M., was arrested on Dec. 16, 2014, on a criminal complaint charging him with involuntary manslaughter. He subsequently was indicted on Jan. 8, 2015, and charged with killing a man on Dec. 9, 2014, while driving under the influence of alcohol on the Navajo Indian Reservation in McKinley County, N.M.
According to court filings, Singer killed a 36-year-old Navajo man who was walking across State Road 118 in Church Rock, N.M., by hitting him with his vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol. Singer fled from the scene of the crash, but was arrested shortly thereafter in Gallup, N.M.
On April 17, 2015, Singer pled guilty to the indictment and admitted to killing the victim by driving recklessly while under the influence of alcohol. Singer also admitted that because of his intoxication, he was incapable of exercising clear judgment and a steady hand in operating a vehicle, and that he operated his vehicle without using due caution and with a reckless disregard that imperiled the lives of others.
This case was investigated by the Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Mease.
Michael Scott Ponce Pleads Guilty to Being an Armed Career CriminalRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Michael Scott Ponce, 38, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to being an armed career criminal. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Ponce will be sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court. Ponce’s sentence was enhanced to a minimum of 15 years in prison, as opposed to a maximum ten years, based on his status as an armed career criminal.
The federal charge against Ponce was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, 2nd Judicial District Attorney Kari E. Brandenburg, Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry of the Phoenix Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Chief Gorden Eden, Jr., of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD), and Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales, III.
U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez said that Ponce was prosecuted as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible. Because New Mexico’s violent crime rates, on a per capita basis, are amongst the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community is collaborating to target repeat offenders from counties with the highest violent crime rates, including Bernalillo County, under this initiative.
“Violent, repeat offenders, such as Mr. Ponce, should be removed from Bernalillo County streets and held accountable for their actions. As part of the Worst of the Worst Initiative, Mr. Ponce's prosecution is an example of the successful collaboration amongst partnering agencies, and the resulting disposal of criminal cases in our community,” said 2nd Judicial District Attorney Kari E. Brandenburg.
Ponce was arrested on July 13, 2015, on a criminal complaint alleging that Ponce unlawfully possessed a firearm and ammunition on June 27, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M. According to the criminal complaint, on June 27, 2015, APD officers who responded to reports of a shooting in downtown Albuquerque observed a vehicle driven by Ponce as it struck another vehicle as Ponce attempted to flee from the area. APD officers pursued Ponce into a residential neighborhood where they took him into custody. As they were arresting Ponce, the officers observed a firearm cartridge in Ponce’s vehicle. Before they arrested Ponce, the APD officers also observed Ponce throw an item from his vehicle, and later found a semiautomatic pistol in the area where they had observed Ponce throw the object.
Ponce was subsequently indicted on July 30, 2015, and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. According to court records, on June 27, 2015, Ponce was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of two counts of aggravated assaults with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon causing great bodily harm, and trafficking a controlled substance in the Second Judicial Court for the State of New Mexico in Bernalillo County. Ponce also had a prior federal conviction on a cocaine trafficking charge. At the time of his arrest on June 27, 2015, Ponce was on supervised release after having served a sentence of incarceration on the federal conviction.
During today’s proceedings, Ponce pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on June 27, 2015, he possessed a semi-automatic pistol even though he was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition due to his prior felony convictions. Ponce remains in federal custody pending his sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the ATF office in Albuquerque and APD with assistance from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and the Second Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mysliwiec is prosecuting the case.
Las Cruces Man Sentenced to Ten Years for Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Joshua Almaguer, 33, of Las Cruces, N.M., was sentenced this afternoon in Las Cruces federal court to 120 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction.
Almaguer is one of three residents of Las Cruces who were charged in a four-count indictment that was filed in June 2014. Almaguer and co-defendant David Enriquez, 27, were arrested in Aug. 2014; their co-defendant Renelle Serna, 25, previously had been arrested in July 2014. The indictment charged the trio with trafficking methamphetamine in Doña Ana County, N.M., in May 2014.
On June 3, 2015, Almaguer pled guilty to two counts of distributing methamphetamine in May 2014, under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In entering his guilty plea, Almaguer admitted that he and his co-defendants distributed approximately 42 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover agent on May 20, 2014.
Serna pled guilty on Jan. 6, 2014, to a felony information charging her with two counts of distributing methamphetamine and two counts of possession of more than 50 grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In entering her guilty plea, Serna admitted that she and her co-defendants distributed methamphetamine to an undercover agent on two occasions on May 20, 0214. The first distribution involved 14 grams of methamphetamine and the second involved 28 grams. Serna also admitted that she possessed 146 grams of methamphetamine on May 23, 2014, and 134.6 grams of methamphetamine on July 25, 2014, with the intention of distributing the drugs to others. Serna was sentenced on June 25, 2015, to 37 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
On Feb. 4, 2015, Enriquez pled guilty to Counts 1 and 2 of the indictment charging him with distributing methamphetamine on two occasions in May 2014. In entering his guilty plea, Enriquez admitted distributing a gram of methamphetamine to an undercover agent on May 9, 2014. Enriquez also admitted that he and his co-defendants distributed 14 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover agent on May 20, 2014. Enriquez was sentenced on June 23, 2015, to 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI and the HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force (RIDTF)/Metro Narcotics Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
The HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of officers from the Las Cruces Police Department and the Doña Ana 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.
Justice Department Awards over $97 Million to Improve Public Safety and Victim Services for American Indians and Alaska NativesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – The Department of Justice today announced 206 awards, totaling more than $97 million, to American Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages, tribal consortia and tribal designees. The announcement was made in Washington, D.C., at the 2015 Tribal Leader Briefing, sponsored by the National Congress of American Indians, and included Tribal leaders, Members of Congress and Administration officials.
The following eight tribes in New Mexico received grant awards totaling $8,053,088.00:
- The Pueblo of Kewa received a $449,805.00 award from the Violence Against Women Tribal Program of the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW).
- The Pueblo of Acoma received two awards totaling $1,167,655.00; one from the Public Safety and Community Policing Program of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), and the second from Justice Systems and Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).
- The Pueblo of Isleta received a $402,704.00 award from the Comprehensive Tribal Victim Assistance Program of the Office of Victims of Crime (OVC).
- The Pueblo of Jemez received five awards totaling $2,667,177.00 from: (1) COPS’ Public Safety and Community Policing Program; (2) BJA’s Justice Systems and Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program; (3) OVW’s Violence Against Women’s Tribal Program; (4) OVC’s Children’s Justice Act Partnerships for Indian Communities; and (5) the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s Juvenile Healing to Wellness Courts Program.
- The Pueblo of Nambe received a $440,775.00 award from OVW’s Violence Against Women’s Tribal Program.
- The Pueblo of Pojoaque received a $375,735.00 award from OVW’s Violence Against Women’s Tribal Program.
- The Pueblo of Sandia received two awards totaling $1,649,337.00; one from COPS’ Public Safety and Community Policing Program, and the second from BJA’s Justice Systems and Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program.
- The Pueblo of Zuni received a $900,000.00 award from OVW’s Violence Against Women’s Tribal Program.
“This money will help tribal leaders in New Mexico make their communities safer places for families to live. With these resources, our tribal communities can develop comprehensive services for victims of crime, address violence against Native American women and children, and tackle other public safety priorities,” said U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office congratulates the tribes receiving these public safety grant awards, and reiterates its commitment to working with all tribes in New Mexico to enhance public safety in their communities.”
“For the past five years, the CTAS program has helped tribes develop their own comprehensive approaches to making their communities safer and healthier,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Stuart F. Delery. “CTAS grants have funded hundreds of programs to better serve crime victims, promote community policing, and strengthen justice systems. This year’s awards also support efforts to reduce domestic and dating violence, and promote wellness and healing for tribal youth, among many other programs.”
The awards are made through the Justice Department’s Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS), a single application for tribal-specific grant programs. The Department developed CTAS through COPS and OVW, and administered the first round of consolidated grants in September 2010.
Since then, more than 1,400 grants totaling more than $620 million have been provided to enhance law enforcement practices, victim services, and sustain crime prevention and intervention efforts in nine purpose areas; public safety and community policing; justice systems planning: alcohol and substance abuse; corrections and correctional alternatives; children’s justice act partnerships; services for victims of crime; violence against women; juvenile justice; and tribal youth programs.
American Indians and Alaska Natives experience disproportionate rates of violence and victimization and often encounter significant obstacles to identifying and accessing culturally relevant services. CTAS funding helps tribes to develop and strengthen tribal justice systems’ response to crime, while significantly increasing programs and services available to them.
A listing of today’s awards is available at www.justice.gov/tribal/.
Today’s announcement is part of the Justice Department’s ongoing initiative to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.
Former Governor of Santa Ana Pueblo Sentenced to 51 Months in Federal Prison for Conviction on Embezzlement and Tax ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A former Governor of Santa Ana Pueblo was sentenced late this afternoon in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., for his conviction on charges arising out of a scheme to embezzle approximately $3,575,000.00 from the Indian Pueblo Federal Development Corporation (IPFDC), an Indian tribal organization formed by the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico for the purpose of developing land that once had been the site of the Albuquerque Indian School.
Bruce Sanchez, 61, was ordered to serve 51 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay, jointly with his co-defendant, restitution in the amount of $3,575,000.00 to the IPFDC. The court also ordered Sanchez to pay the IRS $655,276.00, the federal taxes owed on the money he embezzled from the IPFDC and failed to report to the IRS, as a special condition of his supervised release.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez said, “The IPFDC was established to develop real estate for the benefit of the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico and their people. Bruce Sanchez was entrusted with spearheading that development but instead he lined his own pockets at the expense of the people he was duty-bound to serve.”
“This sentence confirms that those who take advantage of their position, community’s trust, and people, will be held responsible for their actions. This is a positive move forward and a new chapter for the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico. It is also the result of on-going efforts, and strong commitment, by law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Department of Justice,” stated David House, Special Agent in Charge for the Western Region Office of Inspector General Investigations, Department of the Interior.
“Sanchez wrongfully used his positon, as a public servant, to orchestrate an illegal scheme to embezzle $3.5 million dollars from the Indian Pueblo Federal Development Corporation. Sanchez’s scheme diverted much needed public funds for his own personal use then further violated the law by not reporting the funds on his income tax returns,” said Special Agent in Charge Ismael Nevarez, Jr., of IRS- Criminal Investigation. “IRS- Criminal Investigation will continue its collaborative efforts to investigate individuals that violate public trust by engaging in illicit financial fraud schemes.”
Sanchez and co-defendant Thomas Keesing, 62, of Pecos, N.M., were indicted in Oct. 2012, and charged with a conspiracy offense and ten substantive embezzlement offenses arising out of the scheme to steal funds belonging to the IPFDC. The 15-count indictment also charged Sanchez with three tax evasion counts alleging an aggregate federal tax loss of $655,276.00, and a misdemeanor count of willful failure to file a tax return. In Aug. 2013, Keesing was charged by information with three misdemeanor counts of failure to file tax returns and those tax charges were consolidated into the case. The information charged Keesing with failure to file federal tax returns for calendar years 2006, 2007 and 2008, even though he received gross income in the aggregate amount of $2,771,250.00 during those three years.
According to the indictment, between 2003 and 2009, Sanchez and Keesing conspired to embezzle approximately $3,575,000.00 from the IPFDC. During that time, Sanchez was the president and chief executive officer of the IPFDC. Keesing, a commercial real estate developer and the owner of New Mexico Real Estate, Inc. (NMREI), worked as a consultant for IPFDC in 2002 and 2003. Sanchez and Keesing engaged in a scheme to unlawfully profit from the development of the Albuquerque Indian School property by having Keesing submit false and fraudulently inflated invoices for payment from NMREI to the IPFDC. Sanchez approved the invoices even though the payments were vastly in excess of the value of any services provided by Keesing and NMREI. Keesing then shared the proceeds of the fraudulently obtained IPFDC payments with Sanchez. Between 2003 and 2008 and as a result of this illegal scheme, Keesing and NMREI received $3,775,000.00 in payments from the IPFDC, including $3,575,000.00 that was fraudulently obtained. During that same period, Sanchez and Tsachu, LLC, his solely-owned consulting company, received approximately $1,722,823.04 from Keesing and NMREI.
On Jan. 28, 2015, Sanchez entered a guilty plea to Counts 3 and 13 of the indictment charging him with embezzlement from an Indian tribal organization and tax evasion, respectively. Sanchez’s plea agreement detailed the embezzlement scheme through which Sanchez and Keesing defrauded the IPFDC of $3,575,000.00. Sanchez brought Keesing onto the IPFDC development team in 2002 and Keesing performed services for the IPFDC in 2002 and 2003. Thereafter, Sanchez and Keesing entered into a brokerage and development agreement that was never presented to the IPFDC board for approval, and used the agreement as the vehicle to perpetuate their embezzlement scheme. Between Jan. 2005 and Nov. 2008, Keesing and NMREI submitted more than 100 invoices for professional services purportedly provided in connection with the development of the Albuquerque Indian School site. Sanchez arranged for the IPFDC to pay the invoices, and in return, Sanchez and Tsachu, LLC, received more than 100 checks in the aggregate amount of $1,652,823.04 from Keesing and NMREI. Although this illegally obtained money was taxable income, Sanchez did not report the income to the IRS.
Keesing also entered a guilty plea on Jan. 28, 2015. He pled guilty to Count 3 of the indictment charging him with aiding and abetting embezzlement from an Indian tribal organization, and Count 1 of the misdemeanor information charging him with the willful failure to file an income tax return. Keesing’s plea agreement sets forth a detailed description of his role in the embezzlement scheme that defrauded the IPFDC of $3,575,000.00. According to his plea agreement, Keesing shared these illegally obtained proceeds with Sanchez with Sanchez taking $1,652,823.00, and Keesing retaining the balance. Keesing acknowledged that Sanchez provided nothing of value in return for this money and used Keesing as a conduit to receive IPFDC funds to which he was not entitled. Keesing participated in the scheme to obtain additional compensation for work he previously performed on behalf of the IPFDC and for which he felt he was not adequately compensated. Although the proceeds Keesing obtained from the IPFDC were taxable income, he failed to file federal tax returns reporting the income.
Keesing remain on conditions of release and under pretrial supervision pending his sentencing hearing, which is set for Dec. 16, 2015. Keesing faces a statutory maximum of five years in prison on the embezzlement count and up to one year in prison on the tax count. His plea agreement also requires that Keesing pay, jointly with Sanchez, full restitution to the IPFDC for the losses it sustained as a result of their criminal conduct.
The case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation and the Department of the Interior’s OIG, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathon M. Gerson.
El Paso Man Sentenced in New Mexico for Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Carlos Jesus Carrasco, 25, of El Paso, Texas, was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction. Carlos Carrasco was sentenced to 87 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
Carlos Carrasco and his co-defendant and cousin, Bernabe Carrasco, 36, also of El Paso, were arrested on Dec. 20, 2013, and charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. According to court filings, the two men were arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents at the Border Patrol traffic checkpoint on U.S. Highway 54 near Alamogordo, N.M., after the agents discovered that they were concealing packages of methamphetamine on their bodies during a routine immigration check of passengers. The two men subsequently were indicted on the same two charges.
On April 9, 2015, Carlos Carrasco and Bernabe Carrasco both pled guilty to informations charging them with conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Both men admitted to possessing 2.07 kilograms of methamphetamine on Dec. 20, 2013, which they intended to distribute. Carlos Carrasco and Bernabe Carrasco admitted boarding a bus in El Paso with packages containing methamphetamine strapped to their bodies which they intended to deliver to Amarillo, Texas, in exchange for $1,200.00.
Bernabe Carrasco was sentenced on April 9, 2015, to 63 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, with assistance from the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Gould of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
*******media Advisory*******Read the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Officials from the Department of Justice and Department of the Interior (Interior) will hold a press conference on THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2015, to announce a landmark settlement with a nationwide class of tribes and tribal entities.
WHO: Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer Head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division
U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez of the District of New Mexico
DOI Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn
President David Jose of Ramah Navajo Chapter
President John Yellowbird Steele of Oglala Sioux Tribe
Governor Val R. Panteah Sr. of Pueblo of Zuni
Michael P. Gross, M.P. Gross Law Firm P.C.
C. Bryant Rogers, partner in VanAmberg, Rogers, Yepa, Abeita, Gomez and Works LLP
Lloyd B. Miller, partner in Sonosky Chambers Sachse Miller & Munson
WHEN:THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2015 11:00 a.m. MDT / 1:00 p.m. EDT
WHERE:U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of New Mexico
201 Third Street NW
10th Floor Multi-Media Room (Reception on Ninth Floor)
Albuquerque, NM 87102
OPEN PRESS
NOTE: All media must present government-issued photo I.D. (such as a driver’s license) as well as valid media credentials (which must be worn around the neck or pinned to clothing at all times). Media may begin to arrive at 10:00 a.m. MDT. Members of the media must RSVP for the above event to Nicole Navas at [email protected] and Elizabeth Martinez at [email protected] by Thursday, September 17, at 9:00 a.m. EDT. Please include your name, outlet, position, phone number and email address. Inquiries regarding logistics should be directed to Alyssa Ferda at 505-224-1480 or [email protected].
Navajo Man from Thoreau, N.M., Sentenced to 140 Months in Federal Prison for Child Sexual Abuse ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Bronson Ranger, 36, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Thoreau, N.M., was sentenced this morning in federal court in Santa Fe, N.M., to 140 months in prison followed by 25 years of supervised release for his aggravated child sexual abuse conviction. Ranger will be required to register as a sex offender after completing his prison sentence.
Ranger was arrested on Dec. 12, 2012, on an indictment alleging that he sexually abused an Indian child under the age of 12 years between Aug. 1, 2008 and Oct. 30, 2008. The indictment alleged that Ranger violated the young victim in a location within the Navajo Indian Reservation in McKinley County, N.M.
On April 30, 2015, Ranger entered a guilty plea to a felony information charging him with aggravated sexual abuse. In entering his guilty plea, Ranger admitted sexually molesting the victim in a location within the Navajo Indian Reservation.
This case was investigated by the Gallup office of the FBI and the Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback 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/.
Laguna Pueblo Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Assaulting Acoma Pueblo WomanRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Bradford Day, 41, an enrolled member of the Laguna Pueblo who resides in Laguna, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Santa Fe, N.M., to 18 months in federal prison for his assault conviction. Day will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.
Day was arrested on May 6, 2014, on a criminal complaint charging him assault with a deadly weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. According to the complaint, Day assaulted an Acoma Pueblo woman on April 26, 2014, in a location within Acoma Pueblo in Cibola County, N.M. The complaint alleged that in the early morning hours of April 26, 2014, Day assaulted the victim by throwing a pint bottle of beer at the victim’s face, which struck the victim’s face causing her to suffer bruises, cuts and the loss of three teeth.
Day pled guilty on Dec. 31, 2014, to a felony information charging him with assault resulting in serious bodily injury. In entering his guilty plea, Day admitted assaulting the victim on April 26, 2014, by throwing an unopened bottle of beer at the victim and knocking out three of the victim’s teeth.
This case was investigated by the Laguna/Acoma Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Acoma Tribal Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Adams prosecuted this 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.
Belen Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Darrell Ray Trammell, 65, of Belen, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a methamphetamine trafficking charge. Under the terms of his plea agreement, the government will recommend that Trammell be sentenced to a term of imprisonment not to exceed 84 months followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
Trammell was arrested in Aug. 2014, on an indictment charging him and co-defendant Cynthia Boykin, 49, also of Belen, with participation in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Valencia County, N.M. According to the indictment, the conspiracy continued from Nov. 2013 to Jan. 2014. The indictment also charged Trammell and Boykin with distributing methamphetamine in Valencia County in Dec. 2013, and Trammell alone with distributing methamphetamine in Bernalillo County, N.M., in Jan. 2014.
During today’s proceedings, Trammell pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In entering the plea, Trammell admitted that on Jan. 8, 2014, he distributed methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement officer in exchange for $1,700.00.
Trammell remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
Co-defendant Boykin was arrested in March 2015. On May 20, 2015, Boykin pled guilty to a felony information charging her with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. She admitted that on Dec. 12, 2013, she distributed three grams of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement officer. At sentencing, Boykin faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison followed by not less than three years of supervised release. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and the New Mexico State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David M. Walsh and Stephen R. Kotz are prosecuting the case.
Navajo Man from Yatahey, N.M., Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Sexual Abuse ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – David Castillo, 38, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Yatahey, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a felony information charging him with two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Castillo will be sentenced to 20 years in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court. Castillo also will be required to register as a sex offender.
Castillo was arrested May 17, 2015, on a two-count indictment charging him with aggravated sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12 on a date between May 1, 2006 and Sept. 4, 2006, and again on a date between Dec. 20, 2006 and Jan. 8, 2007, in Indian Country in McKinley County, N.M.
During today’s change of plea hearing, Castillo pled guilty to a two-count felony information charging him with aggravated sexual abuse. In entering his guilty plea, Castillo admitted sexually assaulting the victim in the summer of 2006, when the victim was eight years old. He also admitted sexually assaulting the victim over the Christmas holiday in 2006, when the victim was nine years old. According to the plea agreement, Castillo sexually assaulted the victim five times during the periods of time and that the he committed the crimes on the Navajo Indian Reservation.
Castillo has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Gallup office of the FBI and the New Mexico State Police and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Mease.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
Albuquerque Man Pleads Guilty to Robbing US Bank Branch in January 2015Read the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Joshua Hicks, 31, of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty today to robbing the US Bank Branch located on Carlisle Blvd. NE in Albuquerque, in Jan. 2015. The guilty plea was entered without the benefit of a plea agreement.
Hicks was arrested Feb. 9, 2015, based on a criminal complaint charging him with robbing the US Bank branch on Jan. 2, 2015. The criminal complaint alleged that Hicks robbed the bank on Jan. 2, 2015, by handing the bank teller a crumpled hand written note which included the words “have gun,” “robbed” and “money.” The teller recognized it as a robbery note and handed money over to Hicks who then left the bank.
Hicks was indicted on Feb. 10, 2015, and charged with committing a bank robbery in Bernalillo County, N.M.
At sentencing, Hicks faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison followed by up to three years of supervised release. He remains detained pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Albuquerque Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman Cairns.
Zuni Pueblo Man Sentenced for Domestic Assault by a Habitual Offender ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Christopher T. Tsalate, 28, was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 14 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his domestic assault by a habitual offender conviction.
Tsalate, a member and resident of Zuni Pueblo, N.M., was arrested on Jan. 11, 2015, on an indictment charging him with domestic assault of an intimate partner by a habitual offender based on his two prior domestic violence convictions in the Pueblo of Zuni Tribal Court.
On April 14, 2015, Tsalate pled guilty to the indictment and admitted assaulting the victim, his spouse, on May 7, 2014, in McKinley County, N.M.
Court records reflect that Tsalate previously was convicted on domestic violence charges before the Zuni Tribal Court in May 2010 and Oct. 2012. The victim in this case was also the victim in both of the prior tribal court cases.
This case was investigated by the Zuni Pueblo Tribal Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Novaline Wilson. It 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 Man Sentenced to 133 Months in Prison for Federal Drug Trafficking and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Jean Claud Mills, 32, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 133 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on methamphetamine trafficking and firearms charges.
Mills was arrested on May 16, 2014, on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and using and carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Mills subsequently was indicted on June 11, 2014, and charged with (1) possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, (2) being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition, and (3) using and carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. Court records reflect that in May 2014, Mills was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition because he previously had been convicted of felony offenses including possession of narcotics with intent to distribute and conspiracy to tamper with evidence.
According to the criminal complaint, on May 15, 2014, Mills attempted to sell a pound of methamphetamine to undercover detectives of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) for $13,000.00. The APD detectives recovered a handgun and two magazines of ammunition from an open glove compartment in Mills’ vehicle.
On March 31, 2015, Mills pled guilty to Counts 1 and 2 of the indictment. Mills admitted that on May 15, 2014, he sold a pound of methamphetamine to two men for $13,000.00, and was arrested by law enforcement officers before he got into his vehicle to leave. Mills further admitted that on that day he possessed a firearm even though he was a convicted felon and was on probation.
This case was investigated by the Border Enforcement Security Task Force of the Albuquerque office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and APD. Assistant U.S. Attorney Presiliano Torrez prosecuted the case.
Zuni Pueblo Man Sentenced for Sexually Abusing a ChildRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Vernon Niiha, 54, a member of Zuni Pueblo who resides in Blackrock, N.M., was sentenced this morning in Albuquerque, N.M., to 36 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his abusive sexual contact conviction. Niiha will also be required to register as a sex offender.
Niiha was arrested in Aug. 2013, on an indictment charging him with sexually abusing a child under the age of 12 years. According to the indictment, Niiha committed the crime at some time between March 2002 and March 2003, in Zuni Pueblo in McKinley County, N.M.
On Feb. 25, 2015, Niiha entered a guilty plea to a felony information charging him with abusive sexual contact, and admitted sexually abusing the victim.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and Zuni Pueblo Tribal Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback.
The case was filed 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/.
***media Advisory***Read the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE –The New Mexico U.S. Attorney’s Office is hosting a joint meeting of the U.S. Attorney General’s Native American Issues Subcommittee (NAIS) and U.S. Attorneys’ Tribal Liaisons on Sept. 9 and 10, 2015, in Santa Ana Pueblo.
The NAIS is comprised of 30 U.S. Attorneys from across the United States whose Districts contain Indian Country or one or more federally recognized tribes. The NAIS focuses exclusively on Indian Country issues, both criminal and civil, and is responsible for making policy recommendations to the U.S. Attorney General regarding public safety and legal issues that impact tribal communities. Montana U.S. Attorney Michael W. Cotter serves as Chairman of the NAIS and New Mexico U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez serves as Vice Chairman.
All U.S. Attorneys’ Offices with Indian Country responsibility have at least one Tribal Liaison to serve as the primary point of contact with tribes in the district. Tribal Liaisons are an important component of the efforts of the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in Indian Country. The Tribal Liaison position was first established in 1995 and was codified with the passage of the Tribal Law and Order Act. In addition to their duties as prosecutors, Tribal Liaisons often coordinate and train federal and tribal law enforcement agents on the investigation and prosecution of violent crime and sexual abuse cases in Indian country.
While in New Mexico, the NAIS and Tribal Liaisons will meet with representatives from tribes in New Mexico. They also will meet with officials from BIA, Indian Health Services, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs and Environmental and Natural Resources Division.
After the joint meeting of the NAIS and Tribal Liaisons, the Tribal Liaisons will participate in a two-day training seminar presented pursuant to the Justice Department’s National Indian Country Training Initiative that provides annual training for Tribal Liaisons covering legal updates as well as best practices for responding to violent crime in Indian Country. The training seminar also will address topics like Special Law Enforcement Commissions for tribal officers, investigation and prosecution of strangulation assaults, and measuring success in sexual assault prosecutions.
The opening session of the meeting of NAIS and Tribal Liaisons on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2015, will be open to the press and will include welcoming remarks by Montana U.S. Attorney Michael W. Cotter, New Mexico U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, and 1st Lt. Governor Antonio Chewiwi of the Pueblo of Isleta. It also will include remarks by Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn on Progress in Justice Services in Indian Country. U.S. Attorney Cotter, U.S. Attorney Martinez, Assistant Secretary Washburn, and other Justice Department officials will be available for interviews at the conclusion of the meeting’s opening session.
WHO: U.S. Attorney Michael W. Cotter for the District of Montana; U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez for the District of New Mexico; U.S. Attorney Deborah R. Gilg for Nebraska; Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn; Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Sam Hirsch of ENRD
WHAT: Opening session of Joint Meeting of the Native American Issues; Subcommittee of the U.S. Attorney General’s Advisory Committee; and U.S. Attorneys’ Tribal Liaisons
WHEN: WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 9, 2015, 8:30 A.M. – 10:00 A.M.
WHERE: Hyatt Regency Tamaya
1300 Tuyuna Trail
Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico 87004
OPEN PRESS
NOTE: All media must present government-issued photo ID (such as driver’s license) as well as valid media credentials. Media may begin to arrive at 8:15 a.m. Inquiries regarding logistics should be directed to Alyssa Ferda at 505-366-1463 or [email protected].
Zuni Pueblo Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Cocaine Trafficking ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Ocvatius Qualo, 46, of Zuni Pueblo, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a cocaine trafficking charge.
Qualo was arrested in June 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Qualo was arrested on tribal charges on May 29, 2015 after a BIA officer found that Qualo was in possession of cocaine during a routine traffic stop on State Highway 53 in Zuni Pueblo in McKinley County, N.M. According to the complaint, Qualo had eight baggies, each of which contained a small amount of cocaine.
Qualo was indicted on June 24, 2015, and charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. During today’s change of plea hearing, Qualo pled guilty to the indictment.
At sentencing, Qualo faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. His sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Northern Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elaine Y. Ramirez is prosecuting the case.
Albuquerque Man Pleads Guilty to Narcotics Trafficking and Firearms Charges Arising Out of Armed Robberies of Two Retail Pharmacies in January and June 2015Read the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Blake Gallardo, 22, of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning in federal court to narcotics trafficking and firearms charges arising out of the armed robberies of two Albuquerque-area retail pharmacies in Jan. 2015. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Gallardo will be sentenced to a prison term within the range of 15 to 20 years.
The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, 2nd Judicial District Attorney Kari E. Brandenburg, Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division, Special Agent in Charge Will R. Glaspy of the DEA’s El Paso Division, Chief Gorden Eden, Jr., of the Albuquerque Police Department, Chief Pete N. Kassetas of the New Mexico State Police.
Gallardo was one of six defendants charged in four indictments that were announced by federal and local officials on April 29, 2015. The indictments alleged that the six defendants robbed retail pharmacies in Albuquerque to illegally obtain Oxycodone and other highly addictive opioid painkillers. The four indictments charged Gallardo, his co-defendant Josephine Duran, 23, and four other Albuquerque residents with crimes arising out of the armed robberies of retail pharmacies, including violations of the Controlled Substance Registrant Protection Act and the Safe Doses Act, laws passed to address the theft and diversion of prescription drugs.
At the time the indictments were announced, Gallardo and Duran had not been arrested and were considered fugitives. Thereafter, Duran was arrested on May 22, 2015, and Gallardo was arrested on June 11, 2015.
Gallardo and Duran were charged in Indictment 15-CR-1504 with (1) violating the Hobbs Act by interfering with interstate commerce by robbery and violence; (2) brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence; (3) violating the Controlled Substance Registrant Act by robbery involving controlled substance; (4) violating the Safe Doses Act by theft of medical products; and (5) possession of Oxycodone with intent to distribute. These charges arose out of the armed robbery of a Walgreens Pharmacy located at 6565 Paradise Blvd. NW in Albuquerque on Jan. 30, 2015.
Today Gallardo entered a guilty plea to Counts 1, 2, 3 and 5 of the indictment, charges arising out of the Jan. 30, 2015 robbery of the Walgreens Pharmacy on Paradise Blvd. He also pleaded guilty to a felony information charging him with robbery involving controlled substance, a charge arising out of the June 6, 2015 robbery of a Walgreens Pharmacy located at 1201 Unser Blvd. NW in Albuquerque.
In his plea agreement, Gallardo admitted robbing both Walgreens Pharmacies at gunpoint. With respect to the Jan. 30, 2015 robbery, Gallardo entered the pharmacy, jumped over the pharmacy counter while brandishing a firearm, and ordered the pharmacist to open a locker in which controlled substances were stored. Gallardo pointed his firearm at the pharmacist, took her keys, opened the locker, and filled a bag with oxycodone. Gallardo and his co-defendant were arrested on state charges shortly after the robbery.
With respect to the June 6, 2015 robbery, the plea agreement states that Gallardo was armed with a firearm when he entered the pharmacy and jumped over on the pharmacy counter. He grabbed two pharmacy employees and directed them to the pharmacy’s controlled substance locker. Gallardo took several bottles of oxycodone from the locker and ran out of the pharmacy.
Gallardo has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has not yet been scheduled. His co-defendant, Josephine Duran, has entered a not guilty plea to the indictment. She remains in federal custody pending trial.
With respect to the four defendants who are charged in three other pharmacy robbery cases, three have entered not guilty pleas and are detained pending trial. The fourth has entered a guilty plea.
On July 1, 2015, Victor Hurtado, 20, pled guilty to felony charges arising out of the Jan.6, 2015 armed robbery of the Smith’s Pharmacy located at 4016 Louisiana Blvd. NE in Albuquerque. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Hurtado will be sentenced to a prison term within the range of ten to 18 years. He remains in federal custody pending his sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for Oct. 1, 2015.
Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.
These cases were investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI, the Tactical Diversion Squad of the DEA in Albuquerque, and the Albuquerque Police Department, with assistance from the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Bernalillo County. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joel R. Meyers and Shaheen P. Torgoley.
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.
These cases are being prosecuted pursuant to a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.
The cases also are being prosecuted pursuant to the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center that is partnering with the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative with the overriding goal of reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in the District of New Mexico. The HOPE Initiative comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. The law enforcement component of the HOPE Initiative is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin and opioid trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative.
The Controlled Substance Registrant Protection Act was enacted in 1984, to combat the theft of prescription drugs from individuals and businesses registered with the DEA. It created penalties for entering a pharmacy’s premises for the purpose of stealing controlled substances, and includes enhanced punishment for using a dangerous weapon. The Safe Doses Act was enacted in Oct. 2012, to fight medical theft and protect patients from unknowingly using stolen and mishandled drugs. It provides for enhanced sentences for those who rob pharmacies of controlled substances; individuals who steal medical products; and “fences” who knowingly obtain stolen medical products for resale in the supply chain.
Ten Arrested on Firearms and Narcotics Trafficking Charges During Two-Day Law Enforcement Operation in Eddy CountyRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A series of undercover investigations by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Pecos Valley Drug Task Force and the Artesia Police Department have resulted in the filing of federal firearms and narcotics trafficking charges against eleven individuals. On Sept. 1 and 2, 2015, law enforcement officers engaged in a multi-agency operation in Eddy County, N.M., and arrested seven of the federal defendants. The officers also arrested three others on state felony narcotics trafficking charges during the two-day law enforcement operation.
The results of the undercover investigations were announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry of the Phoenix Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Commander James A. McCormack of the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force, and Chief Don Raley of the Artesia Police Department.
The seven federal defendants arrested during the law enforcement operation made their initial appearances in federal court in Roswell, N.M., this morning. One of the federal defendants is in state custody and will be transferred to federal custody to face the charges against him, and two others have yet to be apprehended and are considered fugitives. The eleventh federal defendant was shot and killed on Tuesday morning when officers attempted to arrest him.
The undercover investigations leading to the federal charges were led by the ATF office Las Cruces, the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force and the Artesia Police Department. During the course of the undercover investigations, law enforcement officers seized or purchased 21 firearms and ammunition, 49 ½ sticks of dynamite, approximately 240.16 grams of methamphetamine, a pound of marijuana, and 33 tablets of prescription opioids.
The following ten defendants are facing federal charges as a result of the undercover investigations:
- Victor R. Castillo, 36, of Artesia, N.M., is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and unlawful possession of an unregistered short-barreled shotgun. The indictment alleges that Castillo committed the crimes in Eddy County in Jan. 2015. If convicted, Castillo faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in prison. Castillo was arrested on Sept. 1, 2015.
- Frederic Dodd, 39, of McIntosh, N.M., is charged with being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. The indictment alleges that Dodd committed the crime in Eddy County in May 2014. If convicted, Dodd faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in prison. Dodd was arrested on Sept. 1, 2015.
- Charles E. Gist, 56, of Artesia, N.M., and Jose Alfredo Villa, 34, of Lake Arthur, N.M., are charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine. The indictment alleges that the crimes were committed in Eddy County in Nov. and Dec. 2014. If convicted, each man faces a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 40 years in prison. Gist was arrested on Sept. 2, 2015, and Villa was arrested on Sept. 1, 2015.
- Dallas Ellis Hnulik, 27, of Artesia, N.M., is charged with distributing methamphetamine on two occasions. The indictment alleges that he committed the crimes in Eddy County in June and July 2014. If convicted, Hnulik faces a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 40 years in prison. Hnulik is in state custody on other charges and will be transferred to federal custody to face the charges in the indictment.
- Albert Douglas Lotts, 36, and Jackie Dean Brown, III, 34, both of Artesia, N.M., are charged with being felons in possession of firearms and ammunition. The indictment alleges that the two men committed these crimes in Eddy County in Jan. 2014. If convicted, each man faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in prison. Lotts was arrested on Sept. 1, 2015. Brown has yet to be arrested and is considered a fugitive.
- Jesus Adam Perez, 39, of McIntosh, N.M., is charged with the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a person convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor and distributing marijuana. The indictment alleges that Perez committed these crimes in Eddy County in Nov. 2014. If convicted, Perez faces a statutory maximum of ten years in federal prison. Perez has yet to be arrested and is considered a fugitive.
- Floyd Albert Sherrell, 33, of Artesia, N.M. is charged with being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition and distributing methamphetamine. The indictment alleges that he committed the crimes in Eddy County in June 2014. If convicted, Sherrell faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years on the firearms charge and a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 40 years in prison on the methamphetamine charge.
- Ronald Troy Bettencourt, 54, of Artesia, N.M., is charged in a five-count indictment that also charged Michael Todd Evans, 47. Bettencourt is charged with being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition, being a felon in possession of explosives, and distributing methamphetamine. Bettencourt is alleged to have committed the crimes in Eddy County in Jan. 2014. If convicted, Bettencourt faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in prison on the firearms and explosives counts and a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 40 years in prison on the methamphetamine charge. Bettencourt was arrested on Sept. 1, 2015. Evans was shot and killed on Sept. 1, 2015 when he opened fire on officers who were seeking to execute a warrant authorizing his arrest.
The prosecutions of Bettencourt, Brown, Castillo and Hnulik are being pursued under a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible. This initiative recognizes that on a per capita basis, New Mexico’s violent crime rates, including that of Eddy County, significantly exceed the national average.
The following defendants, all of whom reside in Carlsbad, N.M., were arrested on state felony narcotics trafficking charges: Ricky Gauntt, 61, Leah Hayhurst, 29, and Amanda Lujan, 27.
Charges in indictments and criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the federal cases. The state cases are being prosecuted by the 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. The federal cases were investigated by the Las Cruces office of ATF, the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force and the Artesia Police Department. The following agencies participated in the Sept. 1-2, 2015 law enforcement operation: ATF, Pecos Valley Drug Task Force, Artesia Police Department, Carlsbad Police Department, Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, Lake Arthur Police Department, and the Probation and Parole Division of the New Mexico Corrections Department.
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.
Photographs of the federal fugitives, Jackie Dean Brown, III, and Jesus Adam Perez are attached to this press release. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of these fugitive is asked to contact the ATF in Las Cruces at 575-522-0699.
Jicarilla Apache Man Pleads Guilty to Assaulting a Federally Commissioned Tribal OfficerRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Lawrence Roybal, 53, a member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation who resides in Dulce, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to assaulting a federal officer. The guilty plea was entered without the benefit of a plea agreement.
Roybal was arrested in May 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with assaulting an officer with a dangerous weapon. According to the criminal complaint, Roybal attacked a Jicarilla Apache Tribal Police Officer with a pitchfork on May 11, 2015. The crime occurred in Dulce, N.M., which is within the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation in Rio Arriba County, N.M.
Roybal was indicted on June 9, 2015, and charged with assaulting a federal officer who was engaged in the performance of his official duties. The indictment alleges that the victim was a tribal officer commissioned as a special federal officer by the BIA at the time of the assault.
Today, Roybal entered a guilty plea to the indictment. At sentencing, he faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Roybal has been in custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing.
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.
Federal Jury Finds Francisco Melgar-Cabrera Guilty on Hobbs Act and Felony Murder Charges Arising from Armed Robbery of Two Albuquerque-Area Restaurants and the Murder of Stephanie Anderson in June 2009Read the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A federal jury sitting in Albuquerque, N.M., today returned a guilty verdict against Francisco Melgar-Cabrera, 31, on Hobbs Act robbery and felony murder charges stemming from the armed robberies of two Albuquerque-area restaurants and murder of Stephanie Anderson in June 2009.
The guilty verdict was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry of the Phoenix Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Special Agent Carol K.O. Lee of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI, and Chief Gordon Eden, Jr., of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD).
In announcing the guilty verdict, U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez said, “Although today’s verdict cannot restore the loss of Stephanie Anderson, I hope that it will bring a measure of comfort and closure to her family and friends.” The U.S. Attorney also commended the officers and prosecutors who devoted more than six years to bring a justice to Ms. Anderson’s family and the others who were victimized by Melgar-Cabrera and his three cohorts, all of whom now stand convicted. “In particular, I want to recognize Assistant U.S. Attorney Louis E. Valencia and ATF Special Agent Paul Jessen, both of whom were on the case from the inception of the investigation and delayed retirement plans until all defendants were convicted.”
“I am extremely proud of the work of this office and our law enforcement partners. I would like to recognize the investigative efforts of ATF Special Agents and especially the efforts of ATF Special Agent Paul Jessen, who for years doggedly pursued Melgar-Cabrera for his role in the 2009 murder of Stephanie Anderson. I hope today's verdict of guilt brings some peace to Stephanie’s family,” stated ATF Special Agent in Charge Thomas G Atteberry. “ATF is committed to working with our law enforcement partners – at home and around the world – to take violent criminals off the streets and bring them to justice.”
“Many professionals from a multitude of agencies worked long and hard to make this day possible. The tragic death of Stephanie Anderson demanded justice, and the FBI and its partners in this country and in El Salvador made sure justice was served,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee. “In addition to the FBI Special Agents and other staff involved in this case, I want to thank the FBI Legal Attaché in San Salvador, the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Justice Office of International Affairs, U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI's Transnational Anti-Gang Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Government of El Salvador, and the Albuquerque Police Department.”
“We hope this step brings a sense of closure and justice to Ms. Anderson’s family and all of those involved,” APD Chief Gorden Eden said. “Our goal in law enforcement is to pursue justice no matter how long it takes or how many hurdles we may face. I am thankful for all of our law enforcement partnerships and the positive impact we are able to have especially when dangerous criminals like Melgar-Cabrera face extended federal sentences.”
The long delay in bringing Melgar-Cabrera, a Salvadoran national, to trial was occasioned by his flight to El Salvador shortly after Ms. Anderson was murdered. He was arrested on Sept. 14, 2013, by Salvadoran law enforcement authorities, and was extradited to the United States on May 21, 2014. By that time, Melgar-Cabrera’s three co-defendants had entered guilty pleas and had been sentenced.
Melgar-Cabrera and two co-defendants Marvin Aguilar-Lopez and Pablo De Leon Ortiz, both Salvadoran nationals, were indicted in Oct. 2009, and charged with violating the Hobbs Act by robbing a business involved in interstate commerce, felony murder and firearms offenses. The charges arose from the armed robbery of a Denny’s Restaurant located at 1602 Coors Blvd. NW in Albuquerque on June 20, 2009, and the murder of Ms. Anderson, a cook at the restaurant.
In April 2010, the indictment was superseded to add Melgar-Cabrera’s brother, Jose Melgar-Cabrera, also a Salvadoran national, as a defendant. Jose Melgar-Cabrera was charged as an accessory after the fact for assisting Melgar-Cabrera’s flight to avoid apprehension. A second superseding indictment, filed in Oct. 2010, added four new robbery and firearms offenses against Melgar-Cabrera, Aguilar-Lopez and De Leon Ortiz that arose out of the armed robbery of a Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon located at 10019 Coors Blvd. NW in Albuquerque on June 13, 2009.
The trial of Melgar-Cabrera for the armed robbery of two businesses involved in interstate commerce and felony murder began on Aug. 25, 2015 and ended today when the jury returned a verdict of guilty on all three charges. During the trial, the jury learned that Melgar-Cabrera, Aguilar-Lopez and De Leon Ortiz robbed the Lone Star Steakhouse at gunpoint at 11:00 a.m. on June 13, 2009. Witnesses testified that they saw two masked men with firearms rush the restaurant’s general manager, who was on his way to deposit the prior day’s receipts, and push their guns into his stomach. One of the masked men took the money bag from the general manager and the other took money from the general manager’s wallet. A third man drove the two masked men away in a gold-colored car. The evidence revealed that Melgar-Cabrera was the man who drove the two masked men, Aguilar-Lopez and De Leon Ortiz, away from the Lone Star Steakhouse.
The evidence also established that on the morning of June 20, 2009, Melgar-Cabrera, Aguilar-Lopez and De Leon-Ortiz, who were masked and armed, charged into the Denny’s Restaurant, brandished their weapons, and demanded that everyone get down on the floor. The men were in the Denny’s for a few minutes during which a frenzy of activity ensued including the following: a restaurant employee dropped a tray of beverages and Aguilar-Lopez slipped on the wet floor and fired his weapon; De Leon-Ortiz grabbed the manager, held a gun to his head, and threatened to kill him if he didn’t turn over the restaurant’s money; and Melgar-Cabrera threatened a waitress and demanded that she open the cash register. After Melgar-Cabrera and De Leon-Ortiz grabbed cash out of the register, the three men fled from the restaurant. Shortly thereafter, Ms. Anderson, who was struck by the bullet fired by Aguilar-Lopez, died of a gunshot wound.
About 20 minutes later, APD officers who were conducting surveillance in the area of the Denny’s restaurant as part of a robbery tactical plan followed Aguilar-Lopez as he drove to Melgar-Cabrera’s residence where they arrested him. The APD officers found evidence of the Denny’s robbery, including a revolver, a rifle, trays of rolled coins and Denny’s gift cards, in the car. De Leon-Ortiz was arrested by APD officers about 40 minutes after the robbery. Melgar-Cabrera, who were in his residence when Aguilar-Lopez was arrested, fled out the back door. Thereafter, Melgar-Cabrera fled to El Salvador with the aid of his brother.
Melgar-Cabrera has been in federal custody since he was extradited to the United States in May 2014 and remains detained pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. At sentencing, Melgar-Cabrera faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years on each of the two robbery charges and a statutory maximum penalty of life imprisonment on the felony murder charge.
Aguilar-Lopez and De Leon Ortiz each entered guilty pleas to armed robbery and felony murder charges. Aguilar-Lopez was sentenced to 40 years in prison and De Leon Ortiz was sentenced to a 35-year term of imprisonment. They will be deported after completing their prison sentences. Jose Melgar-Cabrera pled guilty to being an accessory after the fact and was sentenced to 48 months in prison. After completing his prison sentence, Jose Melgar-Cabrera was deported to El Salvador.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque offices of ATF and FBI and APD, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Louis E. Valencia and Presiliano A. Torrez.
Pine Hill Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Marijuana Trafficking ChargeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Patrick Martinez, 28, of Pine Hill, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a marijuana trafficking charge.
Martinez was arrested on April 28, 2015, on a three-count indictment charging him with distributing marijuana. The indictment alleged that Martinez distributed marijuana on three separate occasions between May 2014 and July 2014, in Cibola County, N.M. Each of the three transactions took place on the Ramah Navajo Indian Reservation.
During his change of plea hearing, Martinez entered a guilty plea to Count 1 of the indictment and admitted selling marijuana to an undercover officer on May 2, 2014.
At sentencing, Martinez faces a statutory maximum penalty of five years in prison. His sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Ramah Navajo Tribal Police Department, the Albuquerque office of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services, and the Gallup office of the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elaine Y. Ramirez is prosecuting the case.
Acoma Pueblo Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Child Sexual Abuse ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Michael Paul Cerno, 38, a member and resident of Acoma Pueblo, N.M., was sentenced this morning in federal court in Santa Fe, N.M., to 65 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his child sexual abuse conviction. Cerno will be required to register as a sex offender after completing his prison sentence.
Cerno was arrested on Aug. 22, 2014, on a criminal complaint charging him with sexually abusing a 14-year-old Acoma Pueblo girl in July 2011. According to the complaint, Cerno got the victim intoxicated before violating her. Federal law enforcement authorities initiated the investigation leading to Cerno’s arrest in March 2014.
Cerno was indicted in June 2014, charged with sexually abusing the victim in July 2011 in Acoma Pueblo in Cibola County, N.M. He pled guilty to the indictment on Nov. 19, 2014, and admitted sexually assaulting the victim in July 2011 at a time when the victim was physically incapable of declining to engage in a sexual act because she was intoxicated.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI, the Laguna/Acoma Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services, and the Acoma Pueblo Tribal Police Department.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Adams as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
Statement by U.S. Attorney’s Office Regarding Fatal Shooting of Artesia Man During Federal Arrest OperationRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – An Artesia, N.M., man was shot and killed early this morning during a federal arrest operation. The man, Michael Todd Evans, 47, was fatally shot after he opened fire on officers who went to his residence to execute a warrant authorizing his arrest. An ATF Special Agent sustained a non-lethal injury when he was shot by Evans. In accordance with normal procedures, the circumstances surrounding the shooting are being reviewed. No further information will be made available at this time.
Kirtland, N.M., Man Sentenced to 100 Months for Conviction on Federal Sexual Assault ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Steven Michael John was sentenced today in federal court in Santa Fe, N.M., to 100 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his conviction on sexual assault charges. John will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence. John’s sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division, and Director Jesse Delmar of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety.
John, 23, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Kirtland, N.M., was arrested on July 24, 2013, on a criminal complaint alleging sexual abuse charges. John was indicted on Aug. 14, 2013, and charged with attempted aggravated sexual abuse and abusive sexual contact. The indictment alleged that John attempted to force the victim to engage in a sexual act at a location within the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M., on July 18, 2013. It also alleged that John engaged in sexual contact with the victim on that day.
Trial of this case began on Aug. 18, 2014, and concluded on Aug. 20, 2014 when the jury returned a guilty verdict on both counts of the indictment.
The evidence at trial established that on the afternoon of July 18, 2013, John broke into a residence in Sanostee, N.M., and attempted to rape a 16- year-old Navajo girl. The victim was taking a shower when John entered the residence and attacked her. Although the victim resisted John’s attack and was able to prevent John from raping her, John groped the victim’s naked body during their struggle. After John fled from the residence, the victim called 911 and reported the assault. The evidence presented to the jury included photographs of the injuries the victim suffered as she struggled against John’s attack, and the testimony of medical professionals who treated the victim after the assault.
This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer M. Rozzoni and Kristopher N. Houghton.
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.
Farmington Man Pleads Guilty to Robbing First Convenience Bank Branch in March 2015Read the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Richard Allen Buckner, 22, of Farmington, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a bank robbery charge. The guilty plea was entered without the benefit of a plea agreement.
Buckner was arrested on March 20, 2015, on a criminal complaint alleging that he robbed the First Convenience Bank- East Banking Center located in the Walmart store located at 4600 East Main Street in Farmington on March 18, 2015. According to the complaint, a man later identified as Buckner approached a bank teller with a handwritten note demanding cash. After obtaining cash from the bank teller, Buckner left in a vehicle. Thereafter two witnesses contacted the Farmington Police Department and identified Buckner as the bank robber after viewing surveillance photographs. The investigation revealed that Buckner used part of the money from the bank robbery to make a down payment on a vehicle.
Buckner was indicted on a bank robbery charge on April 14, 2015. Buckner entered a guilty plea to the indictment this morning. At sentencing, Buckner faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison followed by up to three years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Farmington Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mysliwiec is prosecuting the case.
Albuquerque Man Sentenced to Prison for Laundering Money for Major Narcotics Trafficking OrganizationRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Jerome Eckstein, 39, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 15 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his money laundering conviction. Eckstein also was fined $46,100.55, reflecting the cost associated with his incarceration and term of supervised release.
Eckstein was one of 19 defendants charged in Dec. 2012, with drug trafficking and money laundering charges in a 60-count indictment. The indictment was superseded twice; first in Feb. 2014, to add a 20th defendant and a witness tampering charge, and again in Sept. 2014, to add another witness tampering charge and a heroin trafficking charge.
The charges filed in the case were the result of a 16-month multi-agency investigation into a drug trafficking organization headed by Christopher Roybal, 35, also of Albuquerque, which was led by the FBI, IRS and Albuquerque Police Department with assistance from the DEA, the HIDTA Region I Narcotic Task Force and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office. The investigation, code-named “Operation Rain Check,” was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) program. OCDETF is a nationwide Department of Justice program that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations.
The original indictment charged Christopher Roybal and ten others, with conspiracy to distribute large quantities of cocaine in New Mexico between Aug. 2011 and Dec. 2012. It also charged Christopher Roybal and nine others with conspiracy to distribute marijuana between Oct. 2011 and Dec. 2012. Additionally, the indictment included three separate money laundering conspiracies, 22 money laundering offenses, and 18 “telephone counts,” offenses alleging the use of a communications device to facilitate a drug trafficking offense. The indictment was superseded in May 2014, to add a new charge against George Roybal, 53, of Albuquerque, alleging that he threatened an FBI informant to prevent the informant from testifying at the trial of this case which was then scheduled to begin on May 19, 2014. It was superseded again in Sept. 2014, to add two new charges alleging another defendant attempted to murder an FBI informant to prevent that informant from testifying at the trial of this case which was then scheduled to begin on Nov. 10, 2014, and with distributing heroin in Bernalillo County, N.M., in May 2014.
On March 5, 2015, Eckstein pled guilty to a money laundering charge in the second superseding indictment. In entering his guilty plea, Eckstein admitted that between Nov. 2011 and Dec. 2012, he received a large sum of cash from an undercover agent as part of a sting operation. Eckstein further admitted that he should have known that the undercover agent was holding himself out to be a drug dealer and that the cash he provided to Eckstein were drug proceeds. Eckstein admitted paying money back to the undercover agent with checks made payable to fictitious companies for work that was never performed.
With the exception of one defendant who is participating in a pretrial diversion program under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office, all 18 defendants have entered guilty pleas.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation and the Albuquerque Police Department, with assistance from the DEA, the HIDTA Region I Narcotics Task Force and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joel R. Meyers and Shana B. Long are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen R. Kotz is responsible for litigating the related civil asset forfeiture actions.
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.
Los Lunas Man Arraigned on Federal Production of Child Pornography OffensesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Martin Perea, 35, of Los Lunas, N.M., was arraigned this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., on an indictment charging him with nine counts of production of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
The nine-count indictment, which was filed by a federal grand jury on Aug. 25, 2015, alleges that Perea induced and coerced a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography on nine separate occasions between Oct. 2014 and March 2015. The indictment further alleges that Perea committed these crimes in Valencia County, N.M.
Perea was arrested on Aug. 4, 2015, by the FBI on a criminal complaint charging him with production and possession of child pornography, and made his first appearance in federal court the following day. He has been in custody since that time and remains detained pending trial, which has yet to be scheduled.
According to the criminal complaint filed in this case, the FBI began an investigation into Perea on July 24, 2015, when the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office reported receiving information from the Spokane (Washington) Police Department alleging that Perea sexually abused an eight-year-old child and produced child pornography.
The complaint alleges that on July 1, 2015, the victim’s mother discovered pornographic images and videos of Perea and the victim on a memory card she took from Perea’s cellular telephone. The mother allegedly confronted Perea about the pornographic photographs and videos later that day. Two days later, the mother fled with the victim to Spokane, Wash., after Perea allegedly threatened to burn her and her home if she did not return the memory card to him. Once in Spokane, the mother contacted local law enforcement authorities to file a complaint against Perea.
After the memory card was transferred from the Spokane Police Department to the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI obtained a federal search warrant for the card. On July 28, 2015, the search warrant was executed at the New Mexico Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory where the contents of the memory card were downloaded. The complaint alleges that the memory card contained approximately 111 video files and more than 980 image files, including multiple videos and images which allegedly contained child pornography.
If convicted on the production of child pornography charge, Perea faces a prison sentence of not less than 15 years and not more than 30 years in federal prison. Perea also would be required to register as a sex offender. Charges in criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusations and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI, the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office and the New Mexico Computer Forensic Laboratory with assistance from the Spokane Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shammara H. Henderson as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
The case also was brought as a part of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico. There are 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 NMAGO. Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.
Las Cruces Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Robbing First Light Federal Credit Union in Las Cruces in July 2013Read the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Dominic Tyrel Holland, 28, of Las Cruces, N.M., was sentenced this morning to 40 months in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release for his bank robbery conviction.
Holland was arrested on July 31, 2013, on a criminal complaint charging him with robbing the First Light Federal Credit Union in Las Cruces on that day. He subsequently was indicted on that same charge. According to the criminal complaint, Holland approached a bank teller and presented a note demanding money. After obtaining money from the bank teller, Holland left the bank on foot. After witnesses at the bank identified Holland as the bank robber, officers of the Las Cruces Police Department located Holland at an apartment complex and placed him under arrest.
Holland pled guilty to the indictment on Oct. 31, 2013, and admitted robbing the First Light Federal Credit Union in Las Cruces N.M., on July 31, 2013. He entered his guilty plea without the benefit of a plea agreement.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Luis A. Martinez of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office. It was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI and the Las Cruces Police Department.
Arizona Woman Pleads Guilty to Federal Heroin Trafficking Charge in New MexicoRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Janette Marline Montero, 21, of Glendale, Ariz., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a heroin trafficking charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Montero was arrested on Aug. 5, 2015, at the Greyhound Bus Station in Albuquerque after DEA agents found almost nine pounds of heroin in her baggage. Montero was indicted on Aug. 25, 2015, and charged with possession of heroin with intent to distribute.
During today’s proceedings, Montero pled guilty to a felony information and admitted carrying heroin in her suitcase on Aug. 5, 2015, while she was at the Greyhound Bus Station in Albuquerque. Montero acknowledged that law enforcement officers found the heroin after she gave them consent to search her suitcase. Montero admitted that she was transporting the heroin with the intention of distributing it in Chicago, Ill., and that she would get paid for delivering the heroin.
At sentencing, Montero faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Montero is in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Interdiction Unit of the DEA’s Albuquerque office which focuses on disrupting the flow of narcotics, weapons, and the proceeds of illegal activities as they are smuggled into or through New Mexico in passenger buses, passenger trains, commercial vehicles and automobiles. Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Walsh is prosecuting the case.
This case is being prosecuted pursuant to the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center that is partnering with the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative with the overriding goal of reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in the District of New Mexico. The HOPE Initiative comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. The law enforcement component of the HOPE Initiative is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative.
Federal Grand Jury Files Superseding Indictment Charging Andrew Steven Romero with New Offenses Arising Out of Armed Robberies in April and May 2015Read the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A federal grand jury has returned a superseding indictment that adds new charges against Andrew Steven Romero, 28, of Albuquerque, N.M., which arise out of the armed robberies of two Albuquerque-area businesses involved in interstate commerce.
The filing of the superseding indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, 13th Judicial District Attorney Lemuel L. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division, and Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry of the Phoenix Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Chief Gorden Eden, Jr., of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD).
Romero initially was charged with violating the federal firearms laws in a criminal complaint filed on May 29, 2015. The complaint alleged that Romero unlawfully possessed a firearm and ammunition on May 25 and May 26, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M. At the time, Romero was prohibited from possessing either firearms or ammunition because he previously has been convicted of multiple felony offenses, including voluntary manslaughter, tampering with evidence, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, possession of a destructive device by a felon, heroin trafficking, and receiving or transferring a motor vehicle.
On June 9, 2015, a federal grand jury filed a one-count indictment charging Romero with being a felon in possession of a firearm on May 25, 2015, in Bernalillo County. The superseding indictment adds four new counts to the original indictment. Two of the new counts charge Romero with violating the Hobbs Act by robbing two businesses engaged in interstate commerce. The other two new counts charge Romero with brandishing firearms during crimes of violence.
According to the superseding indictment, Romero allegedly committed the armed robbery of the CVS Pharmacy located at 7900 Central Avenue in Albuquerque on April 6, 2015. It also alleges that Romero committed the armed robbery of the Giant convenience store and gas station located at 924 Rio Grande Blvd. NW in Albuquerque on May 26, 2015. Romero allegedly brandished firearms at employees of the two businesses during the two armed robberies.
Romero was arrested on May 26, 2015, on related State charges and is currently in State custody. He will be transferred to federal custody to answer to the federal superseding indictment.
Romero faces up to ten years in federal prison if convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. If the court determines that Romero is an armed career criminal, he faces an enhanced sentence of a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison to a maximum of life imprisonment on that charge. Romero also faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each of the two Hobbs Act charges. If convicted of brandishing firearms during the robberies, Romero faces a mandatory minimum of seven years for the April 2015 robbery and a mandatory minimum of 25 years for the May 2015 robbery; these sentences must be served consecutive to any sentence imposed on the felon in possession charge and the Hobbs Act charges.
Charges in criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly A. Brawley and Jon K. Stanford are prosecuting the federal case, which was investigated by a multi-jurisdictional team that includes the Albuquerque offices of the FBI and ATF, APD and the Multi-Agency Officer Involved Shooting Task Force, which is comprised of officers from APD the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, the New Mexico State Police and the Rio Rancho Police Department. The 13th Judicial District Attorney’s Office assisted in the investigation of the federal case.
Romero is being prosecuted as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.
Navajo Man from Gamerco, N.M., Sentenced for Making a False Statement to FBIRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – This morning in federal court, Benson Pete, 75, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Gamerco, N.M., was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for making a false statement to the FBI.
Pete was arrested on June 3, 2014, on an indictment charging him two counts of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12. According to the indictment, the crimes were committed between Jan. 1, 2013 and March 31, 2013, within the Navajo Nation in McKinley County, N.M.
On March 30, 2015, Pete pled guilty to an information charging him with making a false statement to a law enforcement agency. In entering the guilty plea, Pete admitted that on July 30, 2013, he provided false information regarding the aggravated sexual abuse of a victim to the FBI. Pete also admitted that he withdrew any claims that he was coerced to make the false statements by an FBI agent, and acknowledged that he voluntarily made the false statements.
This case was investigated by the Gallup office of the FBI and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elaine Y. Ramirez and Raquel Ruiz-Velez.
Federal Jury Finds Former Owner of Albuquerque Smoke Shop Guilty on Synthetic Drug Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – This afternoon a federal jury sitting in Santa Fe, N.M., found Firas Abuzuhrieh, 38, of Albuquerque, N.M., guilty on federal synthetic drug trafficking charges after a four-day trial. The guilty verdict was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and Special Agent in Charge Will R. Glaspy of the DEA’s El Paso Division.
Abuzuhrieh, then the owner of the Ace Smoke Shop & Hookah Lounge (Smoke Shop) located on Juan Tabo Blvd. NE in Albuquerque, and his employee Islam Kandil, 40, were arrested on Sept. 23, 2014, and charged by criminal complaint with trafficking in synthetic cannabinoids, more commonly known as “spice.” The two men were subsequently charged in a three-count indictment with conspiracy to distribute “spice.” The indictment also charged each man with distributing spice.
According to the indictment, the two men conspired to sell “spice” in Bernalillo County from Aug. 14, 2014 to Aug. 18, 2014. It also alleged that Kandil sold “spice” to an undercover DEA agent at the Smoke Shop on Aug. 14, 2014, and that Abuzuhrieh sold “spice” to an undercover DEA agent at the Smoke Shop on Aug. 18, 2014.
The indictment was superseded in July 2015 to expand the time frame of the conspiracy to cover the period between Aug. 14, 2014 and Sept. 22, 2014. The superseding indictment also added three counts of possession of “spice” with intent to distribute against Abuzuhrieh.
Kandil pled guilty on Aug. 19, 2015, to a misdemeanor information charging him with simple possession of “spice,” and admitted possessing 2.3 grams of “spice” on Aug. 14, 2014.
Abuzuhrieh elected to proceed to trial on the five-count superseding indictment. The trial began on Aug. 24, 2015, and concluded this afternoon when the jury returned a verdict finding him guilty on all five counts. The evidence at trial established that Abuzuhrieh sold “spice” to an undercover DEA agent on Aug. 18, 2014. It also established that on Sept. 22, 2014, when DEA agents arrested Abuzuhrieh, he was in possession of a key that opened a suite located in the same complex as the Smoke Shop. When the agents searched the Smoke Shop and the suite, they found approximately 62 kilograms of “spice.”
Abuzuhrieh is in federal custody and will remain detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. At sentencing, he faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Under the terms of his plea agreement, Kandil will be sentenced to 360 days in prison followed by up to one year of supervised release. He remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which is scheduled for Sept. 17, 2015.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer M. Rozzoni and Shana B. Long.
The controlled substance analogues charged in the complaints and indictment are commonly referred to as synthetic marijuana or “spice.” According to the DEA, over the past several years, there has been a growing use of synthetic cannabinoids. Smoke-able herbal blends marketed as being “legal” and providing a marijuana-like high have become increasingly popular because they are easily available and, in many cases, more potent and dangerous than marijuana. These products consist of plant material that has been coated with dangerous psychoactive compounds that mimic THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. These substances, however, have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for human consumption, and there is no oversight of the manufacturing process. Synthetic cannabinoids often are labeled as incense to mask their intended purpose.
California Man Sentenced for Heroin Trafficking Charge in New MexicoRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Darmarvis Marquel Lee, 30, of San Bernardino, Calif., was sentenced yesterday afternoon in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 27 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for his heroin trafficking conviction.
Lee was arrested on Aug. 22, 2014, at the Amtrak Train Station in Albuquerque after a consensual search of his baggage by DEA agents revealed that he was in possession of 2.28 kilograms of heroin. Lee subsequently was indicted on Sept. 9, 2014, and charged with possession of heroin with intent to distribute.
On May 5, 2015, Lee pled guilty to the indictment. In his plea agreement, Lee admitted that on Aug. 22, 2014, while he was on an Amtrak train and during a stop in Albuquerque, law enforcement officers found two wrapped bundles containing heroin in his baggage. He also admitted that he was paid $4,000.00 to transport and deliver the drugs.
This case was investigated by the Interdiction Unit of the DEA’s Albuquerque office which focuses on disrupting the flow of narcotics, weapons, and the proceeds of illegal activities as they are smuggled into or through New Mexico in passenger buses, passenger trains, commercial vehicles and automobiles. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rumaldo Armijo prosecuted the case.
This case was prosecuted as part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center that is partnering with the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative with the overriding goal of reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in the District of New Mexico. The HOPE Initiative comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. The law enforcement component of the HOPE Initiative is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative.