Las Cruces Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Narcotics Trafficking and Firearms Charges

ALBUQUERQUE – Ronald Lee Gore, 30, of Las Cruces, N.M. entered a guilty plea yesterday in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to methamphetamine trafficking and firearms charges.  The guilty plea was entered without the benefit of a plea agreement.

Gore and his co-defendant Marcus Dupre, 27, of Phoenix, Ariz., were charged in a criminal complaint on Oct. 6, 2014, with methamphetamine trafficking and firearms offenses.  Gore, Dupre, Jose Miramontes, 35, and Ramona Baca, 30, both of Las Cruces, N.M., were subsequently indicted on Dec. 10, 2014.

The indictment charged Gore with three counts of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, three counts of distribution of methamphetamine, conspiracy to possess a fully automatic machinegun, possession of a machinegun, and being a felon in possession of firearms.  At the time, Gore was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of theft in the first degree and burglary in the second degree.  Gore was charged with committing these crimes between April 22, 2014 and Oct. 2, 2014, in Doña Ana County, N.M.

Dupre pled guilty on Jan. 20, 2015, to distribution of methamphetamine and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, and admitted that on Oct. 2, 2014, he conspired with Gore to sell methamphetamine to an undercover federal agent in exchange for a fully automatic machinegun.  He remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

The indictment was superseded on Feb. 18, 2015, to add an extra count charging Miramontes with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on Dec. 15, 2014, in Doña Ana County.  At the time, Miramontes was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of residential burglary.

During yesterday’s plea hearing, Gore pled guilty to the superseding indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement.  At sentencing, Gore faces a statutory penalty of not less than five years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison followed by at least four years of supervised release.

Miramontes and Baca have entered pleas of not guilty to the indictment.  A trial has yet to be scheduled.  Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces offices of the FBI and DEA and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark A. Saltman of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.