Charles Nunez, 47, of Roswell, N.M., admitted in federal court today to trafficking methamphetamine on a scale that triggered a decade behind bars. Facing a packed courtroom in Las Cruces, Nunez entered a guilty plea to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, sealing a ten-year prison sentence under the terms of a binding plea agreement.
The arrest dates back to March 12, 2016, when the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force raided Nunez’s home, vehicle, and person following a coordinated investigation. Inside his Roswell residence, agents uncovered approximately five pounds of high-grade methamphetamine, a cache of firearms, stacks of untraceable cash, drug paraphernalia, and a police radio scanner—equipment often used by traffickers to monitor law enforcement movements.
Among the seized items were five firearms, which federal prosecutors tied directly to Nunez’s drug operation. As part of the plea deal, Nunez will forfeit both the weapons and $70,000 in drug proceeds to the United States government. His admission in court confirmed that the methamphetamine recovered was intended for distribution, not personal use, elevating the charge to a serious federal offense.
Nunez has remained in federal custody since his arrest over seven years ago. He was initially charged with multiple counts, including carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm—charges that were dropped as part of the plea agreement. A sentencing hearing is pending, but the outcome is all but certain: a decade in federal prison.
The investigation was spearheaded by the FBI’s Roswell office and the HIDTA Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force—a multi-agency unit combining resources from the Roswell Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, and the Chaves County Sheriff’s Office. The task force operates under the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, targeting high-intensity drug zones like southeastern New Mexico.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Ong, handling the prosecution from the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office, called the case a textbook example of interagency cooperation. “This bust didn’t just remove a major quantity of meth from our streets,” she said. “It dismantled a trafficking operation that was armed, organized, and actively monitoring law enforcement.” Nunez’s guilty plea marks the latest blow to a regional drug network under sustained federal pressure.
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Key Facts
- State: New Mexico
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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