Ernesto Flores, Methamphetamine Trafficking, New Mexico 2015

Ernesto Flores, a 44-year-old Hagerman, New Mexico resident, has been sentenced to 60 months in prison for his conviction on methamphetamine trafficking charges.

Flores was arrested on March 12, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. According to the complaint, on February 4, 2015, officers from the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force, the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force, and the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant on Flores’ residence in Hagerman, seizing approximately 296.52 grams of methamphetamine, an AK-47, two handguns, a stolen handgun, $4,900 in cash, and drug paraphernalia during the search.

Upon conviction, Flores admitted to possessing the 296.52 grams of methamphetamine found in his storage room on February 4, 2015, and to selling methamphetamine. The case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA, the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force, the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force, and the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy M. Castellano of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

The Pecos Valley Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, Carlsbad Police Department, and Artesia Police Department and is part of the HIDTA Region VI Drug Task Force. The HIDTA Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of investigators from the Roswell Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, and the Chaves County Sherriff’s Office. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.

Flores will be on supervised release for four years after completing his prison sentence. The case serves as a reminder of the ongoing efforts to combat methamphetamine trafficking in New Mexico.

The HIDTA program provides assistance to federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States, and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.

Mandatory Facts:

Defendant/Respondent: Ernesto Flores

Criminal Charges: Possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute

City and State: Hagerman, New Mexico

Exact Date: February 4, 2015 (search warrant), March 12, 2015 (arrest)

Sentence or Outcome: 60 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release

Dollar Amounts: $4,900 in cash

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-nm/pr/eddy-county-man-sentenced-five-years-prison-violating-federal-narcotics-trafficking-laws