Four Men Charged in Raton Pharmacy Heist

Four men stood before a federal judge in Albuquerque this morning, facing charges tied to the violent, daylight robbery of the Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy in Raton, New Mexico. Antoine Mitchell, 28, Moses Dickens, 30, and Justin Harris, 25, all of Albuquerque, along with Christopher Dominguez, 26, of Mountainair, N.M., were arraigned on a criminal complaint stemming from the Dec. 3, 2016, armed heist. They remain locked up as preliminary and detention hearings loom later this week.

The complaint details a brazen, coordinated assault: the four defendants allegedly stormed the pharmacy at 1275 S. 2nd Street, weapons drawn, terrorizing staff and making off with a cache of prescription opioids, primarily Oxycodone. The raid wasn’t just a smash-and-grab—it was a calculated strike on a business engaged in interstate commerce, federal prosecutors say, elevating the crime to a federal offense. The suspects now face charges of conspiracy to rob, possession of Oxycodone with intent to distribute, and brandishing firearms during a crime of violence.

Arrested on Dec. 16, 2016, the men were first hit with state charges by the 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. But those charges will be dropped as federal authorities take the lead. U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, alongside DEA El Paso Division’s Special Agent in Charge Will R. Glaspy, Raton Police Chief John Garcia, and Colfax County Sheriff Rick Sinclair, confirmed the federal prosecution. The move signals the seriousness of the case and its ties to broader drug distribution networks.

If convicted, the penalties are severe. Each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison for conspiracy to rob a business engaged in interstate commerce, and another 20 years for possession of Oxycodone with intent to distribute. But the most punishing charge is brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence—each faces a mandatory minimum of seven years, tacked on consecutively to any other sentence. That means even a single conviction on the gun charge could lock them away for years beyond the underlying crimes.

The investigation was led by the DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squad in Albuquerque, a specialized unit formed to dismantle illicit pharmaceutical trafficking rings by pooling federal, state, and local resources. They were joined by the Raton Police Department, Colfax County Sheriff’s Office, and Trinidad, Colorado Police Department, with support from the 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. These squads are designed to track pills from pharmacy thefts to street-level sales, cutting off supply at the source.

Prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joel R. Meyers and Shaheen P. Torgoley as part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. Launched in 2015, HOPE unites law enforcement, health officials, and community groups to combat the opioid crisis that has ravaged the state. This case underscores the violent underbelly of prescription drug abuse—a robbery fueled by demand, and paid for in public safety. Charges are pending; the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

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