Colorado Man Sentenced for Conviction on Cocaine Trafficking Charge in New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE – Leroy Tchod Cameron Ravenell, 28, of Colorado Springs, Colo., was sentenced this morning in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 30 months in prison for his cocaine trafficking conviction.  Ravenell will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.

U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Ravenell on Nov. 11, 2016, after finding approximately .36 kilograms (.8 pounds) of cocaine and two loaded firearms concealed in his vehicle during an inspection at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint near Alamogordo, N.M., in Otero County, N.M.  Ravenell initially was charged in a criminal complaint.  He subsequently was indicted on May 17, 2017, and was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.

On Aug. 2, 2017, a federal jury returned a guilty verdict against Ravenell on the sole count of the indictment.  The testimony at trial established that on Nov. 11, 2016, Ravenell was a passenger in his vehicle when it drove into the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on Highway 54 south of Alamogordo.  During a routine inspection of Ravenell’s vehicle, Border Patrol agents found approximately 243 grams of cocaine and two firearms in the back of the vehicle, in addition to finding a large amount of cash on Ravenell’s person.  The jury also heard Ravenell’s statement to law enforcement acknowledging that he bought the cocaine in El Paso, Tex., on the morning of Nov. 11, 2016, with the intention of selling it to others.  

This case was investigated by the DEA and the U.S. Border Patrol and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Balla and Richard C. Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.