ALBUQUERQUE - A federal jury in Las Cruces, N.M., found Jose Velarde-Pavia, 37, of Roswell, N.M., guilty at trial on Aug. 28, 2019, of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, law enforcement agents from the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force observed Velarde-Pavia as the driver and only passenger of a pick-up truck driving in Roswell on June 11, 2018. The agents pulled Velarde-Pavia over with a warrant to search him and his car. Inside the car, the agents found methamphetamine weighing at least 50 grams and two pistols with ammunition. The evidence at trial proved Velarde-Pavia possessed the drugs and guns in violation of federal law.
Velarde-Pavia is currently in custody awaiting sentencing at a later date. He faces from 10 to 40 years in prison for methamphetamine possession and a consecutive sentence of five years in prison for possession of the firearm.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated the case with the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Saltman and Christopher Solis are prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
