Defendant Prosecuted as Part of HOPE Initiative which Seeks to Reduce the Number of Opioid-Related Deaths in New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE - Eugene Vigil, 37, of Truchas, N.M., was sentenced this morning in federal court in Santa Fe, N.M., to 60 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for his heroin trafficking conviction.
Vigil was arrested on May 5, 2014, on an indictment charging him with participation in a heroin trafficking conspiracy and heroin trafficking. On Aug. 27, 2015, Vigil entered a guilty plea to a heroin distribution charge and admitted distributing more than 100 grams of heroin.
In his plea agreement, Vigil admitted purchasing ten ounces of heroin in Feb. 2014, with the intention of reselling and distributing the heroin to others in and around Rio Arriba County, N.M. According to the plea agreement, on Feb. 25, 2014, law enforcement officers went to Vigil’s residence inquiring about heroin. Vigil agreed to show the officers where he kept his heroin and led them to four guardrails along New Mexico Highway 76. There Vigil showed the officers where he hid his heroin and surrendered approximately 219.9 grams of heroin to the officers.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA with assistance from the Albuquerque Police Department and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy S. Vasquez pursuant to the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative is a collaborative effort 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
