Linda Styler, Methamphetamine Trafficking, NM 2015

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – Linda Styler, 66, of Rio Rancho, New Mexico, is trading her golden years for a federal prison cell. She was sentenced today to 18 months behind bars for her role in a methamphetamine trafficking operation that spanned the summer of 2015. Following her release, Styler will face two years of supervised release, a small price to pay for pushing poison in Sandoval County.

The bust originated with a January 6, 2016, arrest of both Styler and her alleged accomplice, Edward Lucero, 41, also of Rio Rancho. A four-count indictment accused the pair of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine during July and August 2015, directly distributing the drug on July 31, 2015, and possessing distribution-level quantities on August 27, 2015. The feds weren’t messing around.

Styler took a plea deal on September 30, 2016, and admitted to supplying Lucero with significant amounts of high-grade meth. Court documents reveal she handed off 24.3 grams of 100% pure methamphetamine on July 22, 2015, which Lucero promptly flipped to an undercover agent. She doubled down on July 31, providing a further 47.3 grams of 98% pure meth—also sold to an undercover officer. The scale of the operation was starting to become clear.

The DEA wasn’t relying on street informants alone. On August 27, 2015, agents raided Styler’s Rio Rancho residence, turning up a hefty 230 grams of methamphetamine. That’s enough to ruin a lot of lives. Lucero, meanwhile, copped a plea on October 6, 2016, admitting to selling 47.2 grams of 98% pure methamphetamine to the same undercover agent on July 31, 2015.

Lucero is now staring down the barrel of a potential 20-year sentence and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 7, 2017. While Styler got a lighter sentence, it’s a harsh reminder that age is no excuse when it comes to dealing death. This case was spearheaded by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristopher N. Houghton, proving that federal agencies are actively targeting drug traffickers in New Mexico.

Grimy Times will continue to follow this case and provide updates as they become available. The streets of Rio Rancho are a little safer today, but the fight against the flood of methamphetamine into this country is far from over. Expect more arrests and prosecutions as the DEA continues its relentless pursuit of those who profit from addiction.