Carlsbad Woman Pleads Guilty to Possessing an Unregistered Firearm

ALBUQUERQUE – Janice Sarabia, 47, of Carlsbad, N.M., pled guilty this afternoon in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to violating the federal firearms laws by unlawfully possessing an unregistered firearm.

Sarabi was arrested in Feb. 2016, on a criminal complaint charging her with possession of an unregistered firearm on Feb. 27, 2014, in Eddy County, N.M.  According to the complaint, the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force (PVDTF) executed a state search warrant on Sarabia’s residence on Feb. 27, 2014, and seized a short-barrel shotgun.  A search of the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR) determined that Sarabia did not have any weapons registered to her, and the shotgun also was unregistered with the NFRTR.

During today’s plea hearing, Sarabia pled guilty to a felony information charging her with possession of an unregistered firearm.  At sentencing, Sarabia faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison.  A sentencing hearing 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 Pecos Valley Drug Task Force.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy M. Castellano is prosecuting the case.