Madrid Prosecuted as Part of “Worst of the Worst" Anti-Violence Initiative
ALBUQUERQUE - This morning a U.S. Magistrate Judge sitting in Las Cruces, N.M., found probable cause to support a criminal complaint charging Nathaniel Eddie Madrid, 49, of Roswell, N.M., with violating the federal firearms laws. The Magistrate Judge ordered Madrid detained pending trial.
Madrid was arrested on April 15, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and possessing an unregistered firearm. The criminal complaint alleges that Madrid committed the crimes on Oct. 26, 2015, in Lincoln County, N.M.
According to the criminal complaint, New Mexico State Police (NMSP) officers came upon Madrid when responding to the scene of a traffic accident on Oct. 26, 2015. Madrid allegedly had crashed the stolen vehicle he was driving and allegedly was observed throwing a handgun into a nearby ditch by a witness who stopped to render aid to Madrid. The NMSP allegedly retrieved the handgun and found two more firearms in the vehicle.
After identifying Madrid, the NMSP learned that Madrid had an outstanding arrest warrant for violating the conditions of a supervised release term he was serving as a result of a previous federal conviction for unlawfully possessing a firearm. Madrid was arrested on the federal warrant; he has been in federal custody since that time.
The criminal complaint alleges that Madrid was prohibited from possessing either firearms or ammunition on Oct. 26, 2015, because he previously had been convicted of several felony offenses in the state courts of New Mexico in addition to his federal conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
If convicted of the crimes charged in the criminal complaint, Madrid faces a statutory maximum sentence of ten years in prison. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.
The case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the NMSP, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred J. Perez of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
Madrid is being prosecuted the case under a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst" offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders primarily based on their prior criminal convictions for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible. Because New Mexico’s violent crime rate, on a per capita basis, is one of the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community is collaborating to target repeat offenders from counties with the highest violent crime rates under this initiative.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
