Deming Woman Pleads Guilty to Federal Narcotics Trafficking Charges

ALBUQUERQUE – Norma Patricia Rivera, 40, of Deming, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to methamphetamine trafficking charges.  Under the terms of her plea agreement, Rivera will be sentenced to 120 months in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

Rivera was arrested in May 2015, on a criminal complaint alleging that she possessed methamphetamine with intent to distribute in Luna County, N.M., on May 20, 2015.  According to the complaint, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents executed a search warrant at a residence in Luna County where they seized approximately 722.9 grams of a methamphetamine mixture in liquid and crystal form.

Rivera was subsequently charged in a two-count indictment on Aug. 19, 2015, with distribution of methamphetamine on July 17, 2014, in Doña Ana County, N.M., and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on May 20, 2015, in Luna County.

During today’s proceedings, Rivera pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on July 17, 2014, in Las Cruces, she sold 162.18 grams of methamphetamine to an individual working with law enforcement.  Rivera further admitted that on May 20, 2015, in Deming, she possessed liquid and crystal methamphetamine which she intended to sell to other individuals.  Rivera remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by HSI, the Las Cruces office of the FBI, the HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force and the Deming Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander B. Shapiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

The HIDTA Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of officers from the Las Cruces Police Department, the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, HSI and the New Mexico State Police.  The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.  HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.