ALBUQUERQUE - A federal jury sitting in Albuquerque, N.M., returned a verdict yesterday afternoon finding Albuquerque resident, Sandra Cook, 53, guilty on methamphetamine trafficking charges after a three-day trial. Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney, Special Agent in Charge Waldemar Rodriguez of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, Texas, and Sheriff Manuel Gonzales, III, of the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO), announced the verdict.
Cook was arrested on Feb. 24, 2016, on an indictment charging her with possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute on June 30, 2015. The indictment was superseded on Feb. 28, 2017, and added a second methamphetamine trafficking charge alleging that Cook also possessed methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Feb. 24, 2016. According to the superseding indictment, Cook committed the crimes in Bernalillo County, N.M.
Cook’s trial began on May 8, 2017, and concluded yesterday afternoon when the jury returned a guilty verdict against Cook on both counts of the superseding indictment.
The testimony at trial established that on June 30, 2015, BCSO officers executed a search warrant at Cook’s residence where they seized multiple bundles of methamphetamine weighing approximately 3.2 kilograms (7.2 pounds) and over $22,000 in cash. Following the filing of charges against her based on the methamphetamine seizure, Cook evaded capture by law enforcement and the BCSO and HSI conducted an investigation to find her
Other evidence introduced during the trial included the testimony of HSI agents establishing that in Feb. 2016, HSI used a court-authorized GPS tracker and data from Cook’s cell phone to locate Cook at a residence in Albuquerque. On Feb. 24, 2016, agents executed a search warrant at that residence where they located Cook standing near a kitchen table on which an open tool bag was sitting. The tool bag contained her driver’s license and a bag of 100% pure methamphetamine weighing approximately 441.6 grams.
The jury deliberated approximately one hour before returning its guilty verdict.
Cook was remanded into custody after the verdict was returned and will remain detained pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. At sentencing, Cook faces a mandatory minimum penalty of ten years and a maximum of life in federal prison.
This case was investigated by HSI and BCSO and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander M. Uballez and Peter J. Eicker.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
