ALBUQUERQUE - Eddieberto Garcia, 36, of Oceanside, Calif., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 97 months in federal prison followed by four years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction. Garcia’s crime of conviction involved possession of approximately two kilograms of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.
Garcia was arrested on Aug. 22, 2013, in Las Cruces, N.M., on a criminal complaint alleging possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute following a routine traffic stop. According to the complaint, Garcia was stopped on July 27, 2013, in Doña Ana County, N.M., for speeding. After issuing a citation to Garcia, the officer requested and obtained Garcia’s consent to a search of his vehicle. After a narcotics canine alerted to narcotics, the officer found three bundles containing methamphetamine that were wrapped in cellophane and concealed within the vehicle’s door panels. Garcia subsequently was indicted in a two-count indictment charging him with conspiracy and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.
Garcia pled guilty on Feb. 14, 2014, to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In entering his guilty plea, Garcia admitted that on July 27, 2013, he possessed 2.06 kilograms of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. He further admitted that on that date he was driving to meet another individual and planning to deliver the methamphetamine to that individual.
This case was investigated by the Border Enforcement Security Taskforce of Homeland Security Investigations and the HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force (RIDTF)/Metro Narcotics Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander B. Shapiro 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.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
