ALBUQUERQUE – Mariano Ponce, Jr., 46, of Las Cruces, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 41 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction.
Ponce was arrested on Aug. 2, 2016, on an indictment charging him with methamphetamine trafficking offenses. The indictment charged Ponce with distributing methamphetamine on Sept. 16, 2015, Oct. 14, 2015, and Oct. 23, 2015, and with possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Dec. 7, 2015. According to the indictment, Ponce committed the crimes in Dona Ana County, N.M.
On Nov. 8, 2016, Ponce pled guilty to a felony information charging him with three counts of distributing methamphetamine and one count of possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute. In entering the guilty plea, Ponce admitted that on Sept. 15, 2015, Oct. 14, 2015 and Oct. 23, 2015, he sold methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement agent. Ponce further admitted that on Dec. 7, 2015, law enforcement officers discovered a bag of methamphetamine in his vehicle, which he intended to distribute to others.
This case was investigated by the HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Clara Cobos 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. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.
Information from Department of Justice