Israel Mireles-Rivera, Methamphetamine Trafficking, New Mexico 2013

A Mexican national has pleaded guilty to methamphetamine trafficking charges in New Mexico.

Israel Mireles-Rivera, 33, a Mexican national unlawfully in the United States and residing in Hagerman, N.M., pled guilty this afternoon in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to methamphetamine trafficking charges.

Mireles-Rivera and co-defendant Ediberto Guzman, 61, of Carlsbad, N.M., were arrested in January 2014, on a three-count indictment alleging methamphetamine trafficking and firearms charges.

Count 1 of the indictment charged the two men with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine from February 2013 through October 2013 in Eddy and Chaves Counties, N.M. Counts 2 and 3 respectively charged Mireles-Rivera alone with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and being an alien illegally in possession of a firearm.

According to the indictment, between February 2013 and October 2013, Mireles-Rivera provided methamphetamine to Guzman on multiple occasions, and Guzman sold the methamphetamine to others, including a person who was working as a confidential source for law enforcement officers.

Guzman pled guilty to Count 1 of the indictment on April 25, 2014, and was sentenced on June 26, 2014, to 48 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.

During this afternoon’s proceedings, Mireles-Rivera pled guilty to a two-count felony information charging him with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

In entering his guilty plea, Mireles-Rivera admitted that between February 2013 and October 2013, he was involved in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy. He acknowledged that during this period, he supplied methamphetamine to an individual who sold the drugs to others, including a person who was acting as a confidential source for law enforcement.

At sentencing, Mireles-Rivera faces a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison. He will be deported to Mexico after completing his prison sentence. Mireles-Rivera remains in federal custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

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