Fabrienne Rosalinda Morales, Heroin Trafficking, New Mexico 2015

Fabrienne Rosalinda Morales Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Heroin Trafficking

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – In a shocking turn of events, Fabrienne Rosalinda Morales, 40, of Peralta, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for her heroin trafficking conviction.

Morales and her co-defendant, Christopher Gonzales, 20, of Rio Rancho, N.M., were arrested in January 2016, on a five-count indictment charging Morales and Gonzales with conspiracy, Gonzales with possessing heroin and Suboxone with intent to distribute, and Morales with distributing heroin and Suboxone.

The indictment was superseded on February 9, 2016, to add a third defendant, Ismael Vargas, 29, of Belen, N.M., to the conspiracy charge. According to the superseding indictment, the three defendants committed the crimes charged on August 2, 2015, in Sandoval County, N.M. At the time, Gonzales was a corrections officer at the Sandoval County Detention Center.

Morales pled guilty to distributing heroin on January 13, 2017. In entering the guilty plea, Morales admitted that on August 2, 2015, she took heroin to the Sandoval County Detention Center and gave it to a corrections officer.

Vargas pled guilty to Count 1 of the superseding indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute heroin on March 9, 2017. In entering the guilty plea, Vargas admitted that on August 2, 2015, while he was an inmate at the Sandoval County Detention Center, he arranged for heroin to be delivered to the jail. Vargas further admitted that he facilitated the payment of money to a corrections officer to get the heroin into the jail.

Gonzales pled guilty to possessing heroin with intent to distribute on February 28, 2017. In entering the guilty plea, Gonzales admitted that on August 2, 2015, while he was working as an officer at the Sandoval County Detention Center, he brought heroin to the Detention Center with the intention of delivering it to an inmate.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Han is prosecuting the case as part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative was launched in January 2015 by the UNM Health Sciences Center and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in response to the national opioid epidemic, which has had a disproportionately devastating impact on New Mexico.

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