Roswell Man Sentenced to 90 Months in Prison on Federal Drug and Ammunition Charges

LAS CRUCES—On April 2, 2012, a federal district judge in Las Cruces sentenced Roswell, New Mexico resident Frank Montoya, 66, to 90 months of imprisonment for his conviction on drug and ammunition charges.

Montoya pled guilty on June 15, 2011 to a five-count indictment charging him with possession of cocaine and marijuana with the intent to distribute and for being a felon in possession of ammunition. After he completes his prison sentence, Montoya will be on supervised release for five years.

Montoya, who was arrested on June 24, 2010 and released on a $10,000 secured bond, will remain on conditions of release until he is ordered to report to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to begin service of his sentence.

U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said that the charges arose out of conduct occurring in Roswell. In pleadings filed with the court, Montoya admitted that on May 20, 2010 and June 3, 2010, he sold cocaine to an individual who, unbeknownst to him, was a government informant. Montoya also admitted that on June 24, 2010, when law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at his home in Roswell, officers found 868.19 grams of cocaine hidden inside the home, including in the clothes dryer. Officers also found 33.35 grams of marijuana in the kitchen, two rounds of Winchester 12 gauge shotgun shells in the bedroom closet, and 32 rounds of Remington .22 caliber ammunition and one round of Federal .22 caliber ammunition on a shelf in the living room.

In his plea agreement, Montoya admitted that the cocaine, marijuana, and ammunition found in his Roswell home belonged to him. Montoya was prohibited from possessing ammunition because he has a prior felony conviction for possession of cocaine in Chaves County District Court.

The case was investigated by the FBI, the DEA, the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force, and the Roswell Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron O. Jordan.