Clovis Career Offender Gets 77 Months for Heroin Sale

Shannon Lamont Jackson, 38, of Clovis, N.M., is headed to federal prison for 77 months after selling 20 grams of heroin to undercover agents in Bernalillo County. The career offender, with a rap sheet stretching back over years of drug and violent crime convictions, was sentenced yesterday and will face three years of supervised release upon his return to society.

Prosecutors didn’t mince words: Jackson is exactly the kind of repeat offender the federal anti-violence initiative was built to neutralize. The program targets “the worst of the worst”—individuals whose criminal histories mark them as persistent threats. By leveraging federal charges, authorities aim to yank repeat dealers like Jackson off New Mexico’s streets for as long as possible.

Arrested Dec. 3, 2015, on an indictment tied to a September 6, 2015, heroin deal, Jackson admitted guilt on October 19, 2016. He confessed to negotiating the sale directly with undercover FBI agents—cold, calculated, and unaware he was sealing his own prison bid. The 20 grams of heroin he pushed could have fueled countless overdoses in a state already drowning in opioids.

The case was a joint operation between the FBI’s Albuquerque office and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office—another brick in the foundation of the state’s coordinated crackdown on drug networks. With overdose deaths spiking, law enforcement isn’t just making arrests—they’re building cases designed to dismantle supply chains and deter would-be traffickers.

Prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana B. Long, the conviction falls under the umbrella of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. Launched in January 2015 by the UNM Health Sciences Center and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, HOPE unites law enforcement, public health, and community groups to combat the opioid crisis through prevention, treatment, and prosecution.

HOPE’s law enforcement arm, led by the Organized Crime Section and the DEA, specifically targets major opioid traffickers. Five pillars—prevention, treatment, enforcement, reentry, and strategic planning—guide the effort. Jackson’s sentencing sends a message: in New Mexico, dealing heroin doesn’t just feed addiction. It earns federal time. Learn more at HopeInitiativeNM.org.