Case Prosecuted as Part of HOPE Initiative which Seeks to Reduce the Number of Opioid-Related Deaths in New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE - A U.S. Magistrate Judge sitting in Las Cruces, N.M., found probable cause to support a criminal complaint charging two Mexican nationals with heroin trafficking offenses arising from a New Mexico State Police seizure of approximately 5.3 pounds of heroin in southern New Mexico on Aug. 27, 2018. The Magistrate Judge also remanded Gerardo Hoyos-Hernandez, 29, and Antonio Mohamed Perez-Llanes, 22, into custody pending trial, which has yet to be scheduled, during this morning’s proceedings.
According to the criminal complaint, a New Mexico State Police officer executed a traffic stop on a vehicle, which Hoyos-Hernandez was driving and in which Perez-Llanes was a passenger, while on patrol in Anthony, N.M., on Aug. 27, 2018. During the traffic stop, the officer requested and allegedly obtained consent to search the vehicle. During his search of the vehicle, the officer allegedly found approximately 2.4 kilograms (5.3 pounds) of heroin in the vehicle.
The penalty for a conviction on the offense charged in the criminal complaint is a statutory minimum penalty of ten years and a maximum of life in federal prison. If convicted, the defendants will be deported after serving any prison sentence imposed. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.
This case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations and the New Mexico State Police. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joni Autrey is prosecuting the case as part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative was launched in January 2015 by the UNM Health Sciences Center and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in response to the national opioid epidemic, which has had a disproportionately devastating impact on New Mexico. Opioid addiction has taken a toll on public safety, public health and the economic viability of our communities. Working in partnership with the DEA, the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative, Healing Addiction in our Community (HAC), the Albuquerque Public Schools and other community stakeholders, HOPE’s principal goals are to protect our communities from the dangers associated with heroin and opioid painkillers and reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in New Mexico.
The HOPE Initiative is comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. HOPE’s law enforcement component is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin and opioid trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative. Learn more about the New Mexico HOPE Initiative at http://www.HopeInitiativeNM.org.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
