Farmington Man Pleads Guilty to Violating Federal Firearms Laws

ALBUQUERQUE – David Dobbs, 28, of Farmington, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to violating the federal firearms laws by being in possession of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

Dobbs was arrested in Aug. 2018, on an indictment charging him with cocaine trafficking and firearms offenses.  According to the indictment, Dobbs distributed cocaine on Nov. 9, 2017, Dec. 7, 2017 and Feb. 7, 2018; possessed cocaine with intent to distribute on Feb. 26, 2018; and possessed a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime on Feb. 26, 2018.  The indictment charged Dobbs with committing the crimes in San Juan County, N.M.

During today’s proceedings, Dobbs pled guilty to possessing a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.  In entering the guilty plea, Dobbs admitted that on Feb. 26, 2018, law enforcement officials found approximately 1011 grams of cocaine and a firearm in his vehicle during a traffic stop.  Dobbs acknowledged that he intended to distribute the cocaine to others and that he possessed the firearm to protect himself and the drugs associated with his drug trafficking activities.

At sentencing, Dobbs faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in federal prison.  A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the HIDTA Region II Task Force and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison Jaros.

The HIDTA Region II Task Force is comprised of officers and investigators from the Farmington Police Department, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, Bloomfield Police Department and Aztec Police Department, and is part of 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.