ALBUQUERQUE - James Thomas Vance, 47, of Phoenix, Ariz., was sentenced today in in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 120 months in prison for his conviction on a methamphetamine trafficking charge. Vance will be on supervised release for five years after he completes his prison sentence
Vance was arrested in Sept. 2015, and charged by criminal complaint with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute after Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents discovered 969.16 grams of methamphetamine in Vance’s vehicle during a routine traffic stop.
Vance was subsequently indicted on Oct. 7, 2015, and charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Sept. 18, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M.
On June 30, 2016, Vance pled guilty to the indictment. In entering the guilty plea, Vance admitted that on Sept. 18, 2015, when he was stopped on Interstate 40 for a traffic violation, he consented to have the officers search his vehicle. The officers subsequently located 10.77 grams of methamphetamine in the driver’s door and approximately 958.39 grams of methamphetamine in the vehicle’s trunk. Vance further admitted that he was driving from Phoenix to Bernalillo, N.M., and planned to deliver the methamphetamine to other individuals.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of HSI and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Wishard.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
