ALBUQUERQUE - Louis Garcia, 31, of Hobbs, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 15 years in prison for his conviction on drug trafficking and firearms charges. Garcia will be on supervised release for eight years after completing his prison sentence.
Garcia was arrested in Dec. 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with committing drug trafficking and firearms offenses on Nov. 20, 2017, in Lea County, N.M. According to the criminal complaint, officers of the Hobbs Police Department found a loaded firearm, two ounces of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and $544 in Garcia’s vehicle during a routine traffic stop.
On Feb. 21, 2018, Garcia pled guilty to a three-count felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. In entering the guilty plea, Garcia admitted that on Nov. 20, 2017, he possessed approximately 54 grams of a mixture containing methamphetamine and a loaded handgun for protection in relation to his drug trafficking activity. Garcia admitted that he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his prior methamphetamine trafficking conviction in 2007.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA and the Hobbs Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Balla of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
