ALBUQUERQUE-Terrence Connors, 61, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced late yesterday afternoon in federal court to 60 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction.
Connors and co-defendant Thomas Jones, 44, of Cerrillos, N.M., were arrested in Dec. 2012, on criminal complaints charging them with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. According to the complaints, on Dec. 17, 2012, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents and the HIDTA Region II Narcotics Task Force executed a traffic stop on a car in which Connors and Jones were driving on Interstate 40 near Gallup, N.M. While searching the care, agents found approximately 990.37 grams of methamphetamine and a pistol.
Connors and Jones were subsequently indicted in Jan. 2013, and were charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Connors also was charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The indictment stated that the offenses were committed on Dec. 17, 2012, in McKinley County, N.M.
On March 25, 2015, Connors pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Connors admitted that on Dec. 17, 2012, law enforcement found 990.37 grams of methamphetamine in the car Connors was driving. Connors also admitted purchasing the methamphetamine earlier that day in Phoenix, Ariz., and that he paid Jones to help him transport the methamphetamine to Albuquerque.
Jones pled guilty on Nov. 3, 2014, to a felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Jones admitted helping Connors transport the methamphetamine to Albuquerque, and acknowledged that he was paid for his services with methamphetamine. Jones was sentenced on July 1, 2015, to 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of HSI and the HIDTA Region II Narcotics Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman Cairns prosecuted the case.
The HIDTA Region II Task Force is comprised of officers and investigators from the Farmington Police Department, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, Bloomfield Police Department and Aztec Police Department, and is part of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
