ALBUQUERQUE - Michael Dwain Samples, 25, of Monahans, Tex., pled guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to violating federal drug trafficking and firearms laws under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Samples’ co-defendant, Nicolas Robert Muniz, 26, also of Monahans, Tex., was charged by criminal complaint on June 5, 2017, after law enforcement officers seized approximately 504 grams of methamphetamine, 50 grams of marijuana, and firearms and ammunition from Muniz’s vehicle following a routine traffic stop. During the traffic stop, Muniz allegedly acted suspicious and nervous causing the officers to deploy a drug detection canine on the vehicle, and the canine allegedly alerted the officers to the presence of controlled substances in the vehicle.
Samples and Muniz were subsequently charged in a six-count indictment on Sept. 13, 2017. Samples and Muniz were charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Muniz was charged individually with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. Samples was charged individually with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. According to the indictment, the offenses took place on May 16, 2017, in Lea County, N.M. Samples was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he was previously convicted of possession of a controlled substance. Muniz was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he was previously convicted of theft of property.
During today’s proceedings, Samples pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. In entering the guilty plea, Samples admitted that on May 16, 2017, he traveled with another individual from Monahans, Tex., to Carlsbad, N.M., to purchase approximately 469 grams of methamphetamine with the intention of distributing the methamphetamine to other people in exchange for money. Samples further admitted that on May 16, 2017, he was in possession of a firearm and ammunition despite his status as a convicted felon.
At sentencing, Samples faces a statutory minimum penalty of ten years and a maximum of life in federal prison. He remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
Muniz has entered a plea of not guilty to the charges in the indictment, and is currently scheduled for trial in Jan. 2018. Charges in criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the New Mexico State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brock E. Taylor of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
