Gonzalez Pleads Guilty in NM Heroin Ring Case

ALBUQUERQUE – The final defendant in a major heroin trafficking investigation has pleaded guilty. Patrick Gonzalez, 39, of Las Cruces, N.M., entered his plea today in federal court to charges including heroin trafficking and firearms violations.

The DOJ reported that Gonzalez was part of a group targeted by a multi-agency investigation led by the FBI. This operation aimed at dismantling drug trafficking activities in Doña Ana County, N.M. Gonzalez admitted facilitating at least a dozen drug transactions involving 2.4 kilograms of heroin between June and October 2013.

Jovita Belmonte-Gonzalez, the lead defendant and a Mexican national from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, pleaded guilty to heroin trafficking charges in four of five cases in 2014. She faces up to life imprisonment after admitting frequent heroin transactions with co-defendants between June 2013 and October 2013.

Belmonte-Gonzalez negotiated sales by phone from Juarez, while her associates traveled to Mexico to purchase the drugs for distribution in Doña Ana County. The investigation was part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, a nationwide initiative aimed at disrupting major drug trafficking organizations.

Gonzalez’s 18-year federal prison sentence follows his admission that he arranged for individuals to travel to Juarez on his behalf and distribute heroin in Doña Ana County. He also admitted possessing four firearms despite being a convicted felon.

This case is part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative, which aims to reduce opioid-related deaths across the state. Assistant U.S. Attorney E. Garreth Winstead III is handling the prosecution.

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