LAS CRUCES, NM – Trevor Lee Thayer, 46, of Silver City, New Mexico, is facing a lengthy prison sentence after a federal jury found him guilty of serious firearms and narcotics violations Friday afternoon. The verdict followed a five-day trial in Las Cruces, marking a significant win for federal investigators battling the flow of illegal weapons and drugs into the state.
The jury wasn’t buying Thayer’s defense entirely. While finding him guilty on two firearms charges and one narcotics charge, they acquitted him on three other firearms counts and a separate narcotics trafficking charge. The initial indictment, filed way back on February 13, 2013, accused Thayer of a litany of offenses stemming from a raid in August 2012. The case dragged on for years, with superseding indictments adding further charges – including manufacturing silencers – in 2013 and 2016.
Evidence presented at trial painted a picture of a well-equipped, if illegal, operation. Law enforcement officials executing a search warrant at Thayer’s residence seized eight firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, two silencers, a complete silencer manufacturing toolkit, and a substantial marijuana grow operation. Crucially, authorities found no registered firearms connected to Thayer in the national database. The feds alleged he illegally possessed a short-barreled rifle and a silencer, manufactured additional silencers, and was growing marijuana.
The jury specifically convicted Thayer on Counts 2, 4, and 5 of the second superseding indictment: unlawful possession of a silencer, possession of a silencer manufacturing kit, and manufacturing approximately 30 marijuana plants. While Thayer had an expired grow license from the State of New Mexico, the scale of the operation and the illegal firearms clearly crossed the line, according to prosecutors. The DEA and ATF worked jointly on the investigation, with support from the New Mexico Motor Transportation Police and the New Mexico State Police.
Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney, DEA Special Agent in Charge Will R. Glaspy, and ATF Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry jointly announced the verdict. “This conviction sends a clear message,” stated a source within the U.S. Attorney’s office, “that those who illegally traffic firearms and narcotics will be brought to justice.” Thayer now faces a statutory maximum of ten years in prison for each of the two firearms charges, and an additional five years for the marijuana offense.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maria Y. Armijo and Matthew Beck of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office are handling the prosecution. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled. Expect a full report from Grimy Times when Thayer learns his fate. This case underscores the continued need for robust federal enforcement to combat the intertwined threats of gun and drug trafficking in New Mexico.
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Key Facts
- State: New Mexico
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Weapons|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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