Hobbs Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking Charge

ALBUQUERQUE – Sabre R. Carney, 24, of Hobbs, N.M., pleaded guilty this afternoon in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to trafficking methamphetamine in Lea County, N.M.

Carney was arrested on Jan. 6, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of methamphetamine and cocaine with intent to distribute.  According to the complaint, officers of the Probation and Parole Division of the New Mexico Corrections Department found approximately 7.8 grams of cocaine and 3.1 grams of marijuana in Carney’s pockets and a handgun, 20.9 grams of methamphetamine and 22.7 grams of cocaine in a vehicle  parked in the driveway of Carney’s residence when they conducted a home visit on Nov. 19, 2014.  The Probation and Parole officers then contacted the Lea County Drug Task Force (LCDTF) who obtained a search warrant for Carney’s residence where they found approximately 87.5 gram of methamphetamine, electronic scales and $981.00 in cash.

During today’s proceedings, Carney pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.  In entering his guilty plea, Carney admitted that on Nov. 19, 2014, a probation officer searched the vehicle and found methamphetamine and a handgun.  Carney further admitted that LCDTF officers found methamphetamine, which he intended to distribute to others, when they searched his residence later that same day.

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

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA and the Lea County Drug Task Force, with assistance from the Probation and Parole Division of the New Mexico Corrections Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Terri J. Abernathy of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.   

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 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.