ALBUQUERQUE – Gilberto Garcia, 42, of Las Cruces, N.M., pled guilty this morning in federal court to a methamphetamine trafficking charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Garcia was arrested in Oct. 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute. According to the complaint, law enforcement officers seized approximately 128 gross grams of methamphetamine from Garcia’s vehicle following a routine traffic stop on May 10, 2017, in Dona Ana County, N.M.
During today’s proceedings, Garcia pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Garcia admitted that on May 10, 2017, Las Cruces Police Department officers seized approximately 80.5 grams of pure methamphetamine from Garcia following a traffic stop on the vehicle Garcia was driving based on a license plate violation. Garcia admitted that he intended to distribute the methamphetamine to others.
At sentencing, Garcia faces a mandatory minimum penalty of ten years and a maximum of life in federal prison. He remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces offices of the DEA and FBI and the Las Cruces Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Renee L. Camacho of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
Information from Department of Justice