Pablo Rocha, Methamphetamine Trafficking, New Mexico 2013

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A local man has been sentenced to federal prison for his role in a methamphetamine trafficking scheme. Pablo Rocha, 34, was sentenced to 151 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction.

Rocha was arrested in August 2013, along with co-defendants Tony Daugherty, 47, Danielle McKee, 25, and Wilson Smith, 47, all of whom were charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The indictment alleged that the conspiracy existed from July 30, 2013, through August 7, 2013, in Otero and Bernalillo Counties, N.M.

The indictment was superseded on December 17, 2013, to add Fabian Jaquez-Lazo, 25, a Mexican national residing in Albuquerque, as a defendant. In addition to charging all four defendants with participation in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy, the superseding indictment also included four substantive counts charging the defendants with distributing methamphetamine in Bernalillo and Otero Counties.

Rocha pleaded guilty to the superseding indictment on April 10, 2014, and admitted to distributing large quantities of methamphetamine to undercover agents in Bernalillo and Otero Counties. Specifically, he admitted to distributing 84.1 grams of methamphetamine on July 31, 2013, 120.2 grams on August 7, 2013, and 201.2 grams on August 29, 2013.

The case was investigated by the FBI, DEA, the HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

The HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of officers from the Las Cruces Police Department, the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, HSI, and the New Mexico State Police. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.

Rocha’s sentence is a result of his involvement in a significant methamphetamine trafficking operation in the Albuquerque area. The case highlights the ongoing efforts of law enforcement agencies to combat the sale and distribution of illicit substances in the region.

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