ALBUQUERQUE - Tina Tafoya, 33, of Clovis, N.M., pleaded guilty today to participating in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy in Curry County, N.M. Tafoya is the last of four defendants to enter a guilty plea in this case.
Tafoya and her three co-defendants, Christopher Jason Kidd, 38, and John Jesse Perez, Jr., 45, both of Clovis, N.M., and Jeannette Driever, 37, of Grady, N.M., were indicted in Feb. 2014, on federal methamphetamine trafficking charges. Count 1 of the three-count indictment charged that the four defendants conspired to distribute methamphetamine in Curry County, N.M., between Sept. 2013 and Nov. 2013. Count 2 charged Kidd and Tafoya with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Nov. 6, 2013, and Count 3 charged Driever and Perez with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on that same day.
In entering her guilty plea, Tafoya admitted conspiring with Kidd, Driever and Perez to distribute methamphetamine in Curry County in fall of 2013. Tafoya has been in federal custody since her arrest. She remains in custody pending her sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled. Under the terms of her plea agreement, Tafoya will be sentenced to 78 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release.
Kidd entered his guilty plea on Nov. 17, 2014, and admitted conspiring with his co-defendants to distribute methamphetamine in Curry County. Kidd admitted that he and Tafoya supplied quantities of methamphetamine to others, including Driever and Perez, who resold the methamphetamine in smaller quantities to users. According to Kidd’s plea agreement, on Nov. 9, 2013, Kidd and Tafoya supplied a pound of methamphetamine to Driever and Perez. On that day, Kidd and Tafoya possessed another half-pound of methamphetamine at their residence. The methamphetamine was seized later that day pursuant to search warrants.
Driever and Perez entered guilty pleas to federal drug trafficking charges on Nov. 20, 2014. Each pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Curry County. Driever admitted that she and Perez obtained quantities of methamphetamine from Kidd and Tafoya that they distributed to others. Perez acknowledged participating in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy that involved Driever, Kidd, Tafoya and others.
Tafoya’s co-defendants will be sentenced to the following terms of incarceration under the terms of their respective plea agreements: Kidd will serve 78 months; Driever will serve 60 months; and Perez will serve 36 months. Each will serve a five year term of supervised release after completing his or her prison sentence. All three remain in custody pending their sentencing hearings, which have not been scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces Agency Office of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division, the Region V Drug Task Force and the New Mexico State Police, with assistance from the Ninth Judicial District Attorney’s Office. The Region V Drug Task Force is comprised of the Clovis Police Department, the Portales Police Department, Curry County Sheriff’s Office and the Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Jon Ganjei is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
