ALBUQUERQUE - This morning a U.S. Magistrate Judge sitting in Las Cruces, N.M., found probable cause to support a criminal complaint charging Joseph Torrez, 31, of Carlsbad, N.M., with violating federal firearms laws by unlawfully possessing a firearm while being subject to a protective order. Torrez remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for June 14, 2017.
According to the criminal complaint, on Feb. 11, 2017, a fugitive investigator of the New Mexico Division of Adult Probation and Parole (NMDAPP) observed Torrez carry a gun case containing a rifle into a gun shop in Las Cruces, N.M. Based on that information, an officer of the NMDAPP obtained a state arrest warrant for Torrez, who was prohibited from possessing firearms as a condition of the probationary term he was serving as the result of a misdemeanor conviction for aggravated assault. On Feb. 13, 2017, Special Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) assisted the NMDAPP in arresting Torrez and executing a probationary inspection at Torrez’s residence. During the search, the agents and officers allegedly seized a shotgun and multiple boxes of ammunition.
According to the criminal complaint, under federal law, Torrez is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he is subject to a protective order that is in effect until June 8, 2026. Torrez was arrested on the firearms charge in the criminal complaint on June 6, 2017, after he was transferred from state custody.
If convicted, Torrez faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.
The case against Torrez was investigated by the Las Cruces office of ATF and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
