Two Men Plead Guilty to Using Firearms During Robbery on Sandia Pueblo
Each Defendant Will Serve Seven-Year Prison Sentence for Armed Robbery at Home of Sandia Pueblo Official

ALBUQUERQUE—This morning in federal court in Albuquerque, Christian Trancosa, 23, and Jonathan Gallegos, 19, each entered a guilty plea to using a firearm during a crime of violence under plea agreements with the United States Attorney’s Office. Under their respective plea agreements, Trancosa, a member of the Pueblo of San Felipe, and Gallegos, an Albuquerque resident, each will serve a seven-year prison sentence that will be followed by three years of supervised release. Trancosa and Gallegos have been in federal custody since they were arrested on September 14, 2010, and will remain in custody pending their sentencing hearings, which have yet to be scheduled.

United States Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said that Trancosa and Gallegos were arrested after they stole a safe containing approximately $28,000 from the home of a Sandia Pueblo council member at gunpoint on the evening of September 13, 2010. Trancosa and Gallegos initially were charged by criminal complaint on September 14, 2010, and subsequently were indicted on September 29, 2010. The four-count indictment charged the two men with: (1) conspiracy to commit robbery; (2) robbery; (3) assault with a dangerous weapon; and (4) using a firearm during a crime of violence.

According to the criminal complaint, on September 13, 2010, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) initiated an investigation after learning that a Sandia Pueblo council member had been the victim of an armed robbery (the Victim). The investigation revealed that, earlier that day, Trancosa enlisted Gallegos to help him rob the Victim, who he was reputed to keep a significant amount of money at his home on the Pueblo of Sandia. After borrowing rifles, Trancosa and Gallegos went to the Victim’s home, entered the home, and demanded to know where the Victim kept his safe. The Victim revealed the location of the safe after Trancosa pointed his rifle at his head. Thereafter, Trancosa and Gallegos fled from the Victim’s home taking the safe with them.

In their respective plea agreements, Trancosa and Gallegos each admitted using a firearm when they robbed the Victim of his safe. Under the terms of the plea agreements, the remaining counts of the indictment will be dismissed after Trancosa and Gallegos are sentenced.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the BIA, Office of Justice Services, Northern Pueblos Agency, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyle T. Nayback.