Plea Agreement Requires Imposition of Ten Year Prison Sentence
ALBUQUERQUE - Gilbert G. Caldwell, 24, of Las Cruces, N.M., pleaded guilty yesterday afternoon in federal court to a cocaine trafficking charge. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Caldwell will be sentenced to ten years in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
Caldwell was arrested in Feb. 2015, and charged by criminal complaint with attempting to possess cocaine with intent to distribute. According to the complaint, Caldwell attempted to purchase 125 grams of cocaine from undercover law enforcement agents on Feb. 12, 2015, in Doña Ana County, N.M. Caldwell was subsequently indicted on the same charge on May 28, 2015.
During yesterday’s proceedings, Caldwell pled guilty to the indictment. Caldwell admitted meeting with a person who unbeknownst to him was an undercover narcotics agent at the Sunland Park Casino on Feb. 12, 2015. Caldwell gave the undercover agent $4,500.00 in exchanged for a white powdery substance that he believed was cocaine but was in fact fake cocaine. Caldwell made the purchase with the intention of selling cocaine to others.
Caldwell remains in federal custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Luis A. Martinez of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
