ALBUQUERQUE - Christopher Joshua Cortes, 32, of El Paso, Texas, pled guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to methamphetamine trafficking charges.
Cortes was arrested on April 17, 2017, on an indictment charging him with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine from March 13, 2016 through June 6, 2016, and distributing methamphetamine on June 6, 2016. According to the indictment, Cortes committed the offenses in Dona Ana County, N.M. The indictment included forfeiture provisions requiring Cortes to forfeit $6,500, the money involved in the drug transaction, to the United States.
During today’s proceedings, Cortes pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that he voluntarily agreed with others to distribute methamphetamine in Dona Ana County from about March 13, 2016 through June 6, 2016. Cortes further admitted distributing approximately 407 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement agent on June 6, 2016.
At sentencing, Cortes faces a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of ten years and a maximum of life in federal prison. Cortes remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Clara Cobos of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
