Defendant Prosecuted as Part of HOPE Initiative which Seeks to Reduce the Number of Opioid-Related Deaths in New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE - Victor Sanchez, Jr., 45, of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning in federal court to heroin trafficking charges under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Sanchez will be sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
During today’s proceedings, Sanchez pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of heroin with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Sanchez admitted that on Oct. 28, 2013, deputies of the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at his residence where they seized approximately 240 grams of heroin. Sanchez further admitted that when deputies approached his residence he attempted to flush the heroin down a toilet but deputies entered the bathroom before he could do so.
Sanchez was remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshalls Service pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Jon Ganjei.
This case is being prosecuted pursuant to the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative is a collaboration between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center that is partnering with the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative with the overriding goal of reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in the District of New Mexico. The HOPE Initiative comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. The law enforcement component of the HOPE Initiative is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
