Jeffery Varela pled guilty Wednesday to Possession of Methamphetamine and was sentenced to 5½ years in prison.
On June 30, 2014, while patrolling, Las Cruces Police Officer Alexander Smith observed a woman walking on Valley Drive who appeared to be crying. Officer Smith recognized the victim from previous encounter. The officer approached and the woman reported she had been in an altercation with her boyfriend who had been using drugs all night. The officer took the woman to La Casa for assistance and a short time later located her boyfriend, Jeffrey Varela. Among his possessions was a small plastic bag containing .06 grams of methamphetamine.
Varela has twice been convicted of Battery on a Household Member involving the same victim, most recently on February 24, 2015. In that case, he also received the maximum jail sentence of 364 days. On that same day, Varela was also held in direct contempt of court by Judge Conrad Perea. He was also on probation for a previous Battery on a Household Member committed against the same victim when he was arrested on June 30, 2014. At sentencing for that case the victim spoke before Judge Macias on September 2, where she detailed the effect Mr. Varela’s violence and drug use had on her life and asked Judge Macias to enter the maximum lawful sentence. The State requested the same.
Mr. Varela’s extensive criminal history include convictions of Battery of a Household Member, Burglary, Resisting Evading or Obstructing an Officer, Fraud, Theft of Identity, Unlawful Use of a Credit Card, direct contempt of court, and numerous probation violations.
Information from Third Judicial District Attorney's Office