David S. Thompson, Methamphetamine Trafficking, New Mexico 2015

Las Cruces Residents Plead Guilty to Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking Charges

ALBUQUERQUE – Two residents of Las Cruces, New Mexico, pleaded guilty today in federal court to methamphetamine trafficking charges.

David S. Thompson, 29, and Marlene C. Sandoval, 38, were arrested on November 12, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging them with methamphetamine trafficking charges on October 16, 2015, in Doña Ana County, New Mexico.

Thompson and Sandoval were arrested after law enforcement officers found crystal methamphetamine inside the vehicle Thompson and Sandoval were driving during a routine traffic stop on October 16, 2015. Thompson and Sandoval were subsequently indicted on February 17, 2016, and charged with conspiracy and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

During today’s proceedings, Thompson and Sandoval each entered a guilty plea to a conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute charge. They admitted being pulled over for speeding on October 16, 2015, by New Mexico Department of Transportation officers. After obtaining consent from Thompson and Sandoval to search their vehicle, the officers found 499 grams of methamphetamine in a shoe in the vehicle. Thompson and Sandoval also admitted that they intended to distribute the methamphetamine in Las Cruces.

At sentencing, Thompson and Sandoval each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison followed by not less than three years of supervised release. Both remain in custody pending sentencing hearings which have yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA, the New Mexico Department of Transportation Police, the Las Cruces Police Department, and the HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark A. Saltman of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

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