Artesia Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearms and Drug Trafficking Charges

ALBUQUERQUE – Odis Levi Booher, 28, of Artesia, N.M., pled guilty yesterday afternoon in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to violating the federal firearms and drug trafficking laws. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Booher will be sentenced to ten years in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

Booher was arrested on Nov. 15, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with committing firearms and methamphetamine trafficking offenses in Chaves County, N.M. According to the complaint, on Nov. 10, 2016, law enforcement agents found approximately 511.2 grams of methamphetamine, a handgun and $2,205 in cash while executing search warrants on Booher and his vehicle.

During yesterday’s proceedings, Booher pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of a handgun in relation to a drug trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. In entering the guilty plea, Booher admitted that on Nov. 10, 2016, he possessed the methamphetamine, firearm and ammunition found inside his truck by law enforcement officers. Booher acknowledged that on Nov. 10, 2016, he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his prior felony conviction for residential burglary. Booher remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin C. Segovia of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

The HIDTA Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of investigators from the Roswell Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and the Chaves County Sherriff’s Office. 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.