Daniel Griego Gets 2 Years for 507 Grams of Cocaine

Daniel Griego, 31, of Albuquerque, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to cocaine trafficking. On July 6, 2016, Griego sold approximately 507 grams of cocaine to a confidential source working with law enforcement in Bernalillo County. The sale triggered a federal indictment, leading to his arrest and eventual conviction.

Robert Henry Lovato, 44, also of Albuquerque, entered a guilty plea today to a methamphetamine trafficking charge under a plea agreement that stipulates a 48-month prison term. The charge stems from a distribution on April 19, 2016, in Bernalillo County. A sentencing hearing for Lovato has not yet been scheduled.

The arrests of Griego and Lovato were part of a sweeping ATF-led operation that began in April 2016, targeting violent crime hotspots across the Albuquerque metro. The probe resulted in 59 federal indictments and one criminal complaint, charging 104 individuals from Bernalillo County with firearms and narcotics offenses. Tactics included undercover buys, surveillance, and intelligence-driven targeting of repeat offenders.

The initiative, backed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, focuses on the “worst of the worst” — violent or habitual criminals with extensive prior records. Federal, state, county, and tribal agencies have teamed up to push these offenders into the federal system, where penalties are stiffer and supervision more prolonged.

Griego was initially arrested on a criminal complaint on July 6, 2016, then formally indicted on July 28, 2016. He pleaded guilty on September 2, 2016. Lovato was arrested over a year later, on July 6, 2017, and now faces a four-year sentence after entering his plea to a felony information in court today.

As of now, 29 of the 104 defendants swept up in the multi-agency dragnet have pleaded guilty, with three already sentenced — including Griego. The rest have pleaded not guilty. The cases were investigated by the ATF’s Albuquerque office. Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Walsh handled Griego’s prosecution; Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Brawley is prosecuting Lovato. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.