Albuquerque Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Heroin Trafficking and Firearms Charges

ALBUQUERQUE – Lawrence Marquez, 39, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to heroin trafficking and firearms charges.  Marquez entered his guilty plea under a plea agreement that recommends that he be sentenced to 88 months of imprisonment followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

Marquez and his co-defendants, Angela Marquez, 28, and Jesus Valdez, 38, both of Albuquerque, were charged in a six-count indictment filed on Dec. 6, 2017, with drug trafficking and firearms offenses.  The indictment charged Marquez, Angela Marquez and Valdez with participating in a heroin trafficking conspiracy in Feb. 2017, and distributing heroin on Feb. 23, 2017.  It also charged Marquez and Valdez with distributing heroin on Feb. 23, 2017; Marquez and Angela Marquez with possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime on Feb. 23, 2017; and Marquez was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm on Feb, 23, 2017.  Marquez was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his status as a convicted felon.  According to the indictment, the defendants committed offenses in Bernalillo County, N.M.

During today’s proceedings, Marquez pled guilty to distributing heroin, and using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.  In entering the guilty plea, Marquez admitted that he was armed with a firearm when he sold heroin to a person he later learned was an undercover law enforcement agent on Feb. 23, 2017. 

Valdez pled guilty on April 24, 2018, to distributing heroin and methamphetamine.  In entering his guilty plea, Valdez admitted distributing heroin to an undercover law enforcement agent on Feb. 23, 2017, and approximately 232 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement agent on Dec. 7, 2017.  Valdez was sentenced on Aug. 20, 2018, to 46 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Angela Marquez has entered a not guilty plea to the charges in the indictment and is pending trial, which is scheduled for Sept. 2018.  Charges in indictments and criminal complaints are only accusations.  Defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque offices of the DEA and Homeland Security Investigations.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Elaine Y. Ramirez is prosecuting the case as part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative.  The HOPE Initiative was launched in January 2015 by the UNM Health Sciences Center and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in response to the national opioid epidemic, which has had a disproportionately devastating impact on New Mexico.  Opioid addiction has taken a toll on public safety, public health and the economic viability of our communities.  Working in partnership with the DEA, the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative, Healing Addiction in our Community (HAC), the Albuquerque Public Schools and other community stakeholders, HOPE’s principal goals are to protect our communities from the dangers associated with heroin and opioid painkillers and reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in New Mexico. 

The HOPE Initiative is comprised of five components:  (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning.  HOPE’s law enforcement component is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners.  Targeting members of major heroin and opioid trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative.  Learn more about the New Mexico HOPE Initiative at http://www.HopeInitiativeNM.org.