Carlsbad Man Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for Unlawfully Possessing Firearms and Ammunition

ALBUQUERQUE – Justin E. Thompson, 35, of Carlsbad, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 60 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for violating the federal firearms laws.

Thompson was arrested on Sept. 18, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm on Dec. 3, 2014, in Eddy County, N.M.  According to the criminal complaint, law enforcement authorities executed a search warrant on Thompson’s residence as a special condition of his supervised probation on a prior felony conviction.  During the search, the officers found two gun safes, which contained 34 firearms and many rounds of ammunition.  At the time, Thompson was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of distribution of a controlled substance and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

On Nov. 20, 2015, Thompson pled guilty to a felony information charging him with being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.  In entering the guilty plea, Thompson admitted that on Dec. 3, 2014, the U.S. Probation Office executed a search of his residence and found 34 firearms and numerous rounds of ammunition in his garage.  Thompson further acknowledged that he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his status as a convicted felon.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Ammunition, the U.S. Probation Office and the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Renee L. Camacho of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office prosecuted the case.