Deming Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison for Methamphetamine Trafficking Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE – Yesterday afternoon, a federal judge in Las Cruces, N.M., sentenced Derek Marcus Garcia, 35, of Deming, N.M., to ten years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction.

Garcia was arrested on Sept. 1, 2011, and charged in a criminal complaint after law enforcement authorities recovered approximately 195 grams of methamphetamine from him following a vehicle stop in Deming. In Jan. 2012, Garcia was indicted and charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Garcia pled guilty to the indictment on June 19, 2012.

Court records reflect that Garcia was stopped by a New Mexico State Police officer for a traffic violation in Deming on Sept. 1, 2011. After a U.S. Border Patrol narcotics canine detected the presence of narcotics in the driver’s seat of Garcia’s vehicle, Garcia admitted that he was in possession of narcotics and removed a bag containing approximately 195 grams of methamphetamine from his pants.

Garcia has been on conditions of release since Sept. 16, 2011. He was ordered to surrender to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his prison sentence in approximately 60 days.

The case was investigated by the Deming office of the Homeland Security Investigations, the New Mexico State Police and the U.S. Border Patrol. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron O. Jordan of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.