Las Cruces Man Sentenced to 9 Years in Prison for Firearms Offense

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, announced today that Mark Anthony Calzada was sentenced to 9 years in prison. Calzada, 29, of Las Cruces, pled guilty in federal court on August 18, 2022, to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, on March 1, 2022, an officer from the Las Cruces Police Department (LCPD) observed Calzada exiting a residence in Las Cruces carrying a shotgun. Calzada placed the shotgun into a vehicle, got into the driver’s seat with a woman and three small children, and drove to a gas station. When LCPD officers attempted to make contact with him, Calzada drove away at a high rate of speed with the shotgun and the three small children not properly restrained in the vehicle.  While fleeing, Calzada drove at high speed the opposite way on a one-way residential street.  Officers were able to track the vehicle and eventually caught up with Calzada who had abandoned the vehicle and was running on foot. LCPD officers pursued and detained Calzada.

LCPD officers located the car Calzada had been driving and executed a search warrant. Inside the car they found the shotgun, which the officer had observed him carrying along with shotgun shells. A second search warrant was sought and obtained for the residence Calzada occupied where they discovered a Glock handgun with an obliterated serial number and a compatible 50-round high-capacity drum magazine loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition in a bedroom.

Calzada was previously convicted in 2016 of possession of a firearm or destructive device by a felon. As a previously convicted felon, Calzada cannot legally possess firearms or ammunition.

Upon his release from prison, Calzada will be subject to supervised release for 3 years.

The FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Las Cruces Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Lindy Carpenter and Mark Saltman are prosecuting the case.

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