Carlsbad Woman Sentenced to Prison for Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE – Suzanne Marie Villa, 37, of Carlsbad, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 24 months in prison for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction.  Villa will be on supervised release for three years after completing her prison sentence.

Villa was arrested on Aug. 25, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging her with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on June 12, 2015, in Eddy County, N.M.  According to the criminal complaint, Villa was arrested after Pecos Valley Drug Task Force agents notified U.S. Border Patrol Agents at the Border Patrol Checkpoint on Highway 62/180 near El Paso, Texas, to be on the lookout for her vehicle based on investigation indicating that Villa would be transporting drugs to Carlsbad.  The U.S. Border Patrol later seized 25.7 grams of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia from Villa’s vehicle during a checkpoint inspection.  Villa was subsequently indicted on Nov. 19, 2015, and charged with conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute on June 12, 2015, in Eddy County.

On Jan. 26, 2016, Villa pled guilty to the indictment.  In her plea agreement, Villa admitted that on June 12, 2015, she was stopped by law enforcement officers and found to be in possession of 25.7 grams of methamphetamine together with other items associated with methamphetamine trafficking including a scale, plastic bags, a glass smoking pipe and $820.00 in cash.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA, the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force and the U.S. Border Patrol.   The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Selesia Lee Winston of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

The Pecos Valley Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, Carlsbad Police Department and Artesia Police Department and is part of the HIDTA Region VI Drug Task Force.  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.