Albuquerque Man Sentenced to Seven Years in Federal Prison for Firearms and Counterfeiting Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE – Phillip Pacheco, 30, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced this morning in federal court to 84 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of firearms and counterfeiting U.S. securities.  Pacheco will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence. 

Pacheco was indicted on May 28, 2015, and charged with being a felon in possession of firearms and counterfeiting U.S. securities on July 1, 2013, in Bernalillo County, N.M.  At the time, Pacheco was prohibited from possessing firearms because he previously had been convicted of marijuana trafficking, armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and being a felon in possession of a firearm. 

Pacheco was arrested in Aug. 2015, after he was transferred to federal custody from state custody where he was being held on related state charges.  The state charges have since been dismissed in favor of federal prosecution.

On Feb. 23, 2016, Pacheco pled guilty to the indictment.  In entering the guilty plea, Pacheco admitted that on July 1, 2013, he possessed three firearms even though he was prohibited from possessing firearms because of his status as a convicted felon.  Pacheco further admitted that he fraudulently made 147 counterfeit Federal Reserve Notes with a total face value of $9,820.00. 

 This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Albuquerque Police Department, with assistance from the 2^nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Walsh prosecuted the case.