Hobbs Man Sentenced to Ninety-Six Months in Federal Prison for Methampethamine Trafficking Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE – Curtis Lee Alemany, 28, of Hobbs, N.M., was sentenced this morning to 96 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction.  The sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough, 5th Judicial District Attorney Janetta B. Hicks, Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI, and Commander Mike Wilson of the Lea County Drug Task Force (LCDTF).

Alemany was arrested on July 17, 2013, on a criminal complaint alleging federal methamphetamine trafficking and firearms charges.  He has been in federal custody since that time.  According to the criminal complaint, on June 5, 2013, officers of the LCDTF executed a state search warrant at Alemany’s residence in Hobbs.  In the master bedroom of the residence, the officers seized a plastic bag containing approximately 66 grams of methamphetamine which was concealed in a “Comet” brand scrubbing cleanser can.  The officers also seized two semi-automatic handguns that contained chambered rounds and loaded magazines, digital weight scales and $12,265 in cash concealed in a “Crown Royal” bag.

On Sept. 5, 2013, Alemany entered a guilty plea to a felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.  In his plea agreement, Alemany admitted that when the officers executed a search warrant at his residence on June 5, 2013, they found methamphetamine and two handguns concealed in a hollowed out space in the wall of the master bedroom.  Alemany further admitted that he intended to sell the methamphetamine found in his residence.

This case was investigated by the Roswell office of the FBI and the Lea County Drug Task Force, with assistance from the 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Terri J. Abernathy of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

The Lea County Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Lea County Sheriff’s Office, Hobbs Police Department, Lovington Police Department, Eunice Police Department and the Jal Police Department, and is part of the HIDTA Region VI Drug Task Force.  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.