Convicted Felon from Albuquerque Sentenced to Seven Years for Violating Federal Firearms Laws

ALBUQUERQUE – Pete Pasqual Chavez, 36, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 84 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Chavez will be on supervised release for three years after he completes his prison sentence.

Chavez was arrested on Sept. 16, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on Sept. 14, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M.  According to the complaint, on Sept. 14, 2015, officers of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) responded to the La Quinta Inn on San Antonio Blvd. NW in Albuquerque after Chavez told hotel personnel that he had just shot a person who was breaking into his vehicle.  Upon arrival, the APD officers found a firearm under Chavez’s vehicle.  Thereafter the officers executed search warrants for Chavez’s hotel room and vehicle.  In the vehicle, the officers found a single projectile that was removed from the inside of the passenger door and a box of Perfecta .45 caliber ammunition.  In Chavez’s hotel room, the officers found four rounds of Perfecta .45 caliber ammunition.  In the bushes outside Chavez’s room, the officers found a firearm loaded with ten rounds of Perfecta .45 caliber ammunition.

Chavez was indicted on Oct. 7, 2015, and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  Chavez was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition, because he previously had been convicted of attempting to traffic a controlled substance with intent to distribute, possession of a controlled substance, tampering with evidence, shooting from or into a vehicle and use of a telephone to facilitate a drug trafficking crime.  Chavez pled guilty to the indictment on Dec. 23, 2015.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and APD. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman Cairns prosecuted the case under a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution.  Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders primarily based on their prior criminal convictions for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.  Because New Mexico’s violent crime rate, on a per capita basis, is one of the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community is collaborating to target repeat offenders from counties with the highest violent crime rates, including Bernalillo County, N.M., under this initiative.