A former Oklahoma resident has been sentenced to federal prison for his role in a methamphetamine trafficking operation in New Mexico.
Jason Gene Lay, 35, of Park Hill, Okla., was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 60 months in prison for his conviction on a methamphetamine trafficking charge.
Lay will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.
According to court documents, Lay was arrested on March 28, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on February 11, 2016, in Chaves County, N.M.
Law enforcement agents seized approximately 53.4 grams of crystal methamphetamine, three handguns, $4,000 cash and drug paraphernalia when they executed a search warrant at a hotel room in which Lay had been residing.
In pleading guilty to a felony information, Lay admitted that on February 11, 2016, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant on his hotel room and found methamphetamine hidden in false compartments inside two canisters, $4,000 and three handguns. Lay further admitted that he planned to distribute the methamphetamine.
The case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA and the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Terri J. Abernathy of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office prosecuted the case.
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 Sheriff’s Office.
Key Facts
- State: New Mexico
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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