ALBUQUERQUE - Moises Eufelio Martinez, Jr., 43, of Grants, N.M., pled guilty this morning in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to a methamphetamine trafficking charge.
Martinez was arrested in Jan. 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The complaint alleged that Martinez committed the crimes on Dec. 19, 2016, in Lea County, N.M. According to the complaint, officers of the Lea County Drug Task Force seized approximately 901.5 gross grams of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, firearms and ammunition following the execution of search warrants on Martinez’s person and a hotel room.
During today’s proceedings, Martinez pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Martinez admitted that on Dec. 19, 2016, he was in possession two bags containing methamphetamine and a loaded handgun when he was searched by Lea County Drug Task Force officers. Martinez acknowledged that he intended to distribute the methamphetamine to others and that he was carrying the firearm to protect himself, the methamphetamine, and any money he received from the sale of the methamphetamine.
At sentencing, Martinez faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison. He remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA and the Lea County Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Terri J. Abernathy of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
The Lea County Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Lea County Sheriff’s Office, Hobbs Police Department, Lovington Police Department, Eunice Police Department the Tatum Police Department and the Jal Police Department, and is part of the New Mexico HIDTA Region VI Drug Task Force. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
