11-17-2024 1:10pm

DOJ New Mexico District Weekly News Roundup Nov 15, 2024

Chris Edwards Editor

A Las Cruces man was sentenced to 80 months in prison for illegally possessing firearms and ammunition while under felony indictment, including an unregistered short-barreled rifle.

There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents, on November 12, 2020, Delbert Tyler Trevino, 33, was indicted in the State of Texas on felony charges of theft of property, fraud, and possession of a controlled substance. On January 31, 2022, Trevino pleaded guilty to those felony charges. Rather than entering a judgment at that time, the court placed him on deferred adjudication probation for a period of five years.

Under Texas law, deferred adjudication allows a defendant to accept responsibility for a crime without an immediate conviction. If the defendant successfully completes the terms of probation, the case is dismissed without a conviction on their record.

Despite being prohibited from possessing firearms while on probation, evidence showed Trevino later obtained firearms that had previously been seized by police. Trevino is also alleged to have purchased ammunition in New Mexico on July 22, 2022.

On September 2, 2022, deputies from the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant related to a homicide investigation at a residence associated with Trevino in Mesilla Park, New Mexico. During the search, authorities recovered an unregistered short-barrel rifle from the bedroom Trevino was staying in.

Trevino was subsequently convicted by a federal jury on April 24, 2024, of federal firearms and ammunition offenses including possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle.

Upon his release from prison, Trevino will be subject to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Brendan Iber, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, made the announcement today.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated this case with assistance from the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office and the Las Cruces Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maria Y. Armijo and Ry Ellison are prosecuting the case.

The homicide investigation remains pending. If you have any information relating to this matter or other crimes committed by Trevino, please contact the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office at 575-525-1911.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the U.S. Marshal Service, the Las Cruces Police Department, and the Doña Ana Sheriff’s Office, conducted a coordinated operation to dismantle a significant drug trafficking network in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The operation targeted 15 defendants charged with conspiracy to distribute and/or possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, specifically methamphetamine and fentanyl, and six properties in Las Cruces and Anthony, New Mexico, along with one defendant charged with maintaining a drug-involved premises.

The defendants include Armando Conrad Gonzales, a.k.a. "Forty," 43, Leticia Maria Rodriguez, 41, Jessica Juel Henderson, a.k.a. "JJ," 45, Veronica Levario, 39, Richard Regan Beserra, 47, Daniel Roberto Herrera, a.k.a. "Fat Boy," 33, Ernesto Salas Flores, 63, Beatriz Adriana Gonzalez, a.k.a. Beatriz Adriana Herrera-Gonzalez, 46, Sylvia Ann Parra, 52, Amanda Lea Weinrich, 38, Phillip Andrew Estell, a.k.a. "Flip," 43, D'Anna Michelle Chavez, 47, Bruce Martin King, 68, Angel Flores, 45, and Kenneth Eric Yeager, 44, all of Las Cruces, New Mexico, and Antonio Valles, a.k.a. "Tony," 49, of Canutillo, TX,.

According to court documents, 14 of the defendants conspired to distribute controlled substances, specifically methamphetamine and fentanyl, and one of the defendants maintained a residence which he allowed to be used for drug distribution and use. The investigation revealed multiple instances of drug sales and transportation among the defendants, including:

March 9, 2023: Beserra transported 182 fentanyl pills, 3.2 grams of methamphetamine, and a firearm in Anthony, New Mexico. He was stopped by law enforcement, who seized the items.
April 4, 2024: Levario and Herrera were travelling to sell 40 fentanyl pills and was stopped by law enforcement while delivering them, resulting in the seizure of 202 fentanyl pills and 30.9 net grams of pure methamphetamine in Levario’s purse.
April 16, 2024: Henderson sold methamphetamine to a confidential informant for $1,800.
April 25, 2024: Gonzales delivered methamphetamine to Henderson, who sold the drugs to an undercover agent for $1,800.
May 10, 2024: Henderson sold 105.62 net grams of fentanyl for $1,200 and a 20-gauge shotgun for $300 to an undercover agent.

On November 6, 2024, HSI and DEA, with support from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshal Service, the Las Cruces Police Department, the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, New Mexico State Police, Texas Department of Public Safety and the New Mexico National Guard, executed search warrants at six properties associated with the drug trafficking conspiracy:

5301 Bell Road SW, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88012: central hub for A. Gonzales and drug distribution point.
3115 El Camino Real, Space 82, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88007: A. Gonzales’s mother’s house and drug distribution point.
5266 Ralls Road, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88012: primary location for B. Gonzalez and E. Flores’ drug transactions.
2826 Ox Cart Court, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88007: primary location for Herrera, used for storing stolen property and drug distribution.
1954 Lyon Place, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88001: residence of Kenneth Yeager and Beserra’s brother, used for drug distribution, purchase, and consumption, as well as location of a reported overdose death.
2775 Night Owl Lane, Anthony, New Mexico 88021: residence of Valles and drug distribution point.

During the investigative phase of the operation, agents seized 1,315.2 net grams of pure methamphetamine, 394.5 net grams of fentanyl pills (approximately 4,000 fentanyl pills), and three firearms. During the search and arrest operations this week, authorities seized additional substantial quantities of illegal substances, including 842 grams of fentanyl, 1,118 grams of methamphetamine, 285 grams of cocaine, 36 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, 400 grams of marijuana, and 96 grams of hydrocodone. The search and arrest operation also resulted in the seizure of 13 firearms and $2,200 in US currency. The operation resulted in 24 arrests, with 16 individuals facing federal charges, and 8 facing state charges.

“As federal prosecutors, we are known for leading investigations into international drug cartels and major drug trafficking organizations. But in order for those organizations to make their money, local networks of drug traffickers must peddle their poison to the streets,” said U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez. “When those local networks trade in death and violence, through overdose and firearms, we will focus the substantial weight of the federal government on dismantling their operations.”

“If drug traffickers think they can come set up shop in Southern New Mexico, they are mistaken,” said Special Agent in Charge Towanda R. Thorne-James. “This operation is just one example of how the DEA will partner with other law enforcement to put them out of business and bring them to justice.”

“Any investigative effort that curbs the flow of fentanyl, methamphetamine and other lethal drugs into our communities is a victory and saves lives,” said Acting Special Agent on Charge Jason T. Stevens. “HSI is a key player in a unified effort to ensure public safety by capturing and prosecuting drug traffickers and anyone else who belongs to transnational criminal organizations.”

If convicted, Weinrich, Parra, Estell, and Yeager face up to 20 years in prison. Herrera and Chavez face a minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 20 years in prison. A. Gonzalez, Rodriguez, Valles, Levario, Beserra, E. Flores, B. Gonzalez, King and A. Floreseach face a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison. Henderson faces a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez, Towanda R. Thorne-James, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration El Paso Division and Jason T. Stevens, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Paso, made the announcement today.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations jointly investigated this case with assistance from the U.S. Marshal Service, the Las Cruces Police Department, the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, New Mexico State Police, Texas Department of Public Safety, and the New Mexico National Guard. Assistant United States Attorneys Kirk Williams, and Renee Camacho are prosecuting these cases.

This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. The task force initiatives are also part of the New Mexico High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program (HIDTA), a federal grant program that supports law enforcement efforts to combat the drug threat in the state.

View the Indictment (Gonzales et al).pdf View the Criminal Complaint (Yeager).pdf View the Criminal Complaint (Flores).pdf

An indictment or criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

A Jemez Pueblo man was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for a violent confrontation with a police officer that escalated from a call for help to an assault on law enforcement.

There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents, on May 29, 2023, a police officer with the Jemez Pueblo Police Department received a report from his sister about an individual in a nearby arroyo who was grunting and screaming for help. Upon investigation, the officer encountered Dylon Scott Sandia, 32, an enrolled member of the Jemez Pueblo, speaking with his sister. When Sandia took an aggressive posture towards the officer’s sister, he intervened and instructed Sandia to go inside. Instead, Sandiabecame increasingly hostile, yelling slurs at the officer and attempting to headbutt him before physically pushing him.

After being pushed, the officer attempted to detain Sandia. However, Sandia violently resisted, pulling the officer to the ground where he struck him in the stomach and chest while trying to access items from the officer’s duty belt, including his firearm.

In response to the escalating violence, the officer was forced to use pepper spray and a baton to subdue Sandia. He ultimately managed to break free from Sandia’s grip and handcuff him.

Upon his release from prison, Sandia will be subject to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with the assistance of the Jemez Pueblo Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meg Tomlinson is prosecuting the case.

After receiving credit for 13 months previously served in Tribal custody, a Laguna man was sentenced to serve an additional 27 months in prison for two violent assaults against his intimate partner, a member of the Acoma Pueblo in 2019.

There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents, in the first incident on May 30, 2019, Bret Anthony Vallo, 32, a member of the Laguna Pueblo, admitted to approaching the victim from behind during an argument, wrapping his arm around her neck, and strangling her until she lost consciousness.

In a separate incident between July 1 and July 15, 2019, Vallo acknowledged that he escalated another verbal dispute by punching the victim in the face and striking her multiple times with a metal futon leg.

Upon his release from prison, Vallo will be subject to 3 years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez made the announcement today.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs investigated this case with assistance from the Pueblo of Acoma Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Robert James Booth II is prosecuting the case.

A Shiprock man was charged by indictment with sexual abuse.

Jasper Lee Gray, 62, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, appeared before a federal judge today and will remain on conditions of release pending trial, which has not been scheduled.

According to court records, between December 1 and December 20, 2023, Gray engaged in a sexual act with Jane Doe without her consent.

If convicted, Gray faces any term of years up to life in prison.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Department of Investigation and Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Caitlin L. Dillon is prosecuting the case.

View the Indictment (Gray).pdf

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.