Curry County Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE – John Jesse Perez, Jr., 46, of Clovis N.M., was sentenced today in Albuquerque, N.M., to 36 months in prison for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction, and to 24 months for violating his supervised release on an earlier conviction.  Because 10 months of the 24 month sentence must be served consecutive to his 36 month sentence with the remaining 14 months to be served concurrently, Perez was sentenced to a total of 46 months in prison.  Perez will be on supervised release for five years after completing his prison sentence.

Perez and his three co-defendants, Christopher Jason Kidd, 38, and Tina Tafoya, 33, of Clovis, and Jeanette Driever, 38, of Grady, N.M., were indicted in Feb. 2014, on federal methamphetamine trafficking charges.  Count 1 of the three-count indictment charged the four defendants with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine in Curry County, N.M., between Sept. 2013 and Nov. 2013.  Count 2 charged Kidd and Tafoya with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Nov. 6, 2013.  Count 3 charged Driever and Perez with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute also on Nov. 6, 2013.

Perez and Driever entered guilty pleas to federal drug trafficking charges on Nov. 20, 2014.  Each pled guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Curry County.  Perez acknowledged participating in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy that involved Driever, Kidd, Tafoya and others.  Driever admitted that she and Perez obtained quantities of methamphetamine from Kidd and Tafoya and then distributed the methamphetamine to others.

Tafoya entered a guilty plea on Dec. 17, 2014, and admitted conspiring with Kidd, Driever and Perez to distribute methamphetamine in Curry County in fall of 2013.  Kidd entered a guilty plea on Nov. 17, 2014, and admitted that he conspired with his co-defendants to distribute methamphetamine in Curry County.  More specifically Kidd admitted that he and Tafoya supplied quantities of methamphetamine to others, including Driever and Perez, who resold the methamphetamine in smaller quantities to users.  According to Kidd’s plea agreement, on Nov. 9, 2013, Kidd and Tafoya supplied a pound of methamphetamine to Driever and Perez.  On that day, Kidd and Tafoya possessed another half-pound of methamphetamine at their residence.  The methamphetamine was seized later that day pursuant to search warrants.

Kidd was sentenced on June 16, 2015, to 78 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.  Tafoya was sentenced on July 23, 2015, to 78 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.  Driever was sentenced on Aug. 26, 2015 to 60 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

This case was investigated by the Roswell Agency Office of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division, the Region V Drug Task Force and the New Mexico State Police, with assistance from the Ninth Judicial District Attorney’s Office.  The Region V Drug Task Force is comprised of the Clovis Police Department, the Portales Police Department, Curry County Sheriff’s Office and the Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Jon Ganjei prosecuted the case.