Joshua Alexander Jimenez, Methamphetamine Trafficking, New Mexico 2018

18-Pound Meth Seizure at New Mexico Border Checkpoint Leads to Arrest

A U.S. Magistrate Judge in Las Cruces, N.M., found probable cause to support a criminal complaint charging Joshua Alexander Jimenez, 23, of El Paso, Texas, with a methamphetamine trafficking offense arising out of the seizure of 18 pounds of methamphetamine at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in southern New Mexico on February 26, 2018.

Jimenez was remanded into custody pending trial, which has yet to be scheduled.

According to the criminal complaint, U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Jimenez on February 26, 2018, after seizing approximately 8.25 kilograms (18.2 pounds) of methamphetamine allegedly concealed in Jimenez's vehicle. The methamphetamine was found while inspecting the vehicle at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on Highway 54 south of Alamogordo, N.M., in Otero County, N.M.

If convicted of the charges in the criminal complaint, Jimenez faces a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of ten years and a maximum of life in federal prison. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Border Patrol and the Las Cruces office of the DEA. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joni Autrey is prosecuting the case.

Joshua Alexander Jimenez, the defendant, is a 23-year-old man from El Paso, Texas. The exact criminal charges against him are a methamphetamine trafficking offense. The city and state where the crime occurred are Las Cruces, New Mexico. The exact date of the crime is February 26, 2018. Jimenez currently faces a sentence of ten years to life in federal prison pending trial.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-nm/pr/us-border-patrol-arrests-texas-man-based-18-pound-methamphetamine-seizure-checkpoint-new