Albuquerque’s Jesus Ramirez, 26, stood in federal court today and admitted he carried a loaded firearm while distributing methamphetamine and heroin—cementing his guilty plea to a federal firearms charge that carries a mandatory five-year prison sentence.
Ramirez, a resident of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty to carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime, acknowledging that on Aug. 4, 2016, he was armed with a loaded gun as he moved narcotics through the city’s underground market. His arrest came during a sweeping ATF-led operation targeting violent repeat offenders across Bernalillo County.
The investigation, launched in mid-April 2016, mobilized federal, state, and local law enforcement in a coordinated push to dismantle networks fueling Albuquerque’s violent crime surge. It resulted in 59 federal indictments and one criminal complaint, charging 104 individuals—including Ramirez, Richard Porras, 30, and Jonathan Griego, 27, both of Albuquerque—with firearms and narcotics offenses.
Ramirez was originally named in a nine-count indictment filed Aug. 9, 2016, which charged him with possession of meth and heroin with intent to distribute, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and using a weapon in connection with a drug trafficking crime. Today’s plea resolves the most serious count: carrying a firearm in furtherance of drug distribution.
Porras and Griego, co-defendants in the same indictment, have entered not guilty pleas and await trial. The broader probe supports a federal anti-violence initiative that focuses on “the worst of the worst”—targeting multi-convicted felons armed with guns, funneling them into federal court for maximum penalties.
To date, 23 of the 104 defendants swept up in the operation have pleaded guilty; one has already been sentenced. The case was investigated by the ATF’s Albuquerque office and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul H. Spiers. Sentencing for Ramirez has not yet been scheduled.
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Related Federal Cases
- Albuquerque Felon Michael Gerard Smith Faces Federal Drug, Gun Charges · New Mexico
- Albuquerque Man Pleads Guilty to Carrying Gun for Meth Deal · New Mexico
- Albuquerque Drug Kingpin Pleads Guilty to Cocaine, Money Laundering · New Mexico
- Albuquerque Drug Kingpin Pleads Guilty to Meth Distribution · New Mexico
- Albuquerque Drug Kingpin Reynaldo Griego Sentenced to Decade Behind Bars · New Mexico
Key Facts
- State: New Mexico
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Weapons|Drug Trafficking|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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