Albuquerque Man Pleads Guilty to Trafficking Methamphetamine in Lea County

ALBUQUERQUE – Michael Boyd, 40, of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to trafficking methamphetamine in Lea County, N.M.

Boyd was arrested in Hobbs, N.M., on Feb. 20, 2015, after law enforcement officers seized 174 grams of methamphetamine, 110 grams of marijuana, 70 grams of heroin, drug paraphernalia and a handgun from the vehicle Boyd was driving.

During today’s change of plea hearing, Boyd pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.  In entering his guilty pleas, Boyd admitted that on Feb. 20, 2015, officers found 174 grams of methamphetamine, 70 grams of heroin and a firearm in the rental car he was driving.  Boyd also admitted that he intended to distribute the methamphetamine and heroin in Hobbs.

At sentencing, Boyd faces a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison followed by a minimum of four years of supervised release.  He remains in federal custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA, the Lea County Drug Task Force and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Terri J. Abernathy of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

The Lea County Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Lea County Sheriff’s Office, Hobbs Police Department, Lovington Police Department, Eunice Police Department the Tatum Police Department and the Jal Police Department, and is part of the NM HIDTA Region VI Drug Task Force.  The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.  HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.