Colorado Woman Pleads Guilty to Federal Cocaine Trafficking Charge in New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE – Yolanda Gonzalez, 35, of Denver, Colo., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to a cocaine trafficking charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Gonzalez was arrested in July 2015, after U.S. Border Patrol agents at the Border Patrol Checkpoint on I-25 north of Las Cruces, found approximately 2.72 kilograms of cocaine concealed in the car battery of Gonzalez’s vehicle during a routine inspection.  Gonzalez was subsequently indicted on Oct. 15, 2015, and charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute on July 26, 2015, in Doña Ana County, N.M.

During today’s proceedings, Gonzalez pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on July 26, 2015, she drove her car to the Border Patrol checkpoint on I-25 where agents found 2.72 kilograms of cocaine hiding in her car.  Gonzalez further admitted that she intended to deliver the cocaine to someone else for distribution in the United States.

At sentencing, Gonzalez faces a minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison followed by not less than four years of supervised release.  A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Border Patrol and the DEA and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anna R. Wright and Luis A. Martinez of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.