Lead Defendant in Curry County Drug Trafficking Ring Sentenced 78 Months in Federal Prison

ALBUQUERQUE – Christopher Jason Kidd, 38, of Clovis, N.M., was sentenced today in Albuquerque, N.M., to 78 months in prison for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction.  Kidd will be supervised release for five years after completing his prison sentence.

Kidd and his three co-defendants, Tina Tafoya, 33, and John Jesse Perez, Jr., 46, both of Clovis, N.M., and Jeannette Driever, 37, of Grady, N.M., were indicted in Feb. 2014, on federal methamphetamine trafficking charges.  Count 1 of the three-count indictment charged the four defendants with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine in Curry County, N.M., between Sept. 2013 and Nov. 2013.  Count 2 charged Kidd and Tafoya with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Nov. 6, 2013.  Count 3 charged Driever and Perez with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute also on Nov. 6, 2013.

Kidd entered a guilty plea on Nov. 17, 2014, and admitted that he conspired with his co-defendants to distribute methamphetamine in Curry County.  More specifically Kidd admitted that he and Tafoya supplied quantities of methamphetamine to others, including Driever and Perez, who resold the methamphetamine in smaller quantities to users.  According to Kidd’s plea agreement, on Nov. 9, 2013, Kidd and Tafoya supplied a pound of methamphetamine to Driever and Perez.  On that day, Kidd and Tafoya possessed another half-pound of methamphetamine at their residence.  The methamphetamine was seized later that day pursuant to search warrants.

Driever and Perez entered guilty pleas to federal drug trafficking charges on Nov. 20, 2014.  Each pled guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Curry County.  Driever admitted that she and Perez obtained quantities of methamphetamine from Kidd and Tafoya and then distributed the methamphetamine to others.  Perez acknowledged participating in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy that involved Driever, Kidd, Tafoya and others.  Tafoya entered a guilty plea on Dec. 17, 2014, and admitted conspiring with Kidd, Driever and Perez to distribute methamphetamine in Curry County in fall of 2013.

Kidd’s co-defendants remain in federal custody pending their sentencing hearings, which have not been scheduled.  Under the terms of their plea agreements, they will be sentenced to serve the following prison sentences:  Tafoya will be sentenced to 78 months; Driever will be sentenced to 60 months; and Perez will be sentenced to 36 months.  Each will serve a five year term of supervised release after completing his or her prison sentence.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces Agency Office of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division, the Region V Drug Task Force and the New Mexico State Police, with assistance from the Ninth Judicial District Attorney’s Office.  The Region V Drug Task Force is comprised of the Clovis Police Department, the Portales Police Department, Curry County Sheriff’s Office and the Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.SAttorney Nicholas Jon Ganjei is prosecuting the case.