Hobbs Woman Pleads Guilty to Violating Federal Narcotics Trafficking Laws

ALBUQUERQUE – Ida Rodriguez, 46, of Hobbs, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to violating federal narcotics trafficking laws.  Under the terms of her plea agreement, Rodriguez will be sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

Rodriguez was arrested on June 10, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging her with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in Lea and Doña Ana Counties, N.M.  According to the complaint, Rodriguez sold methamphetamine to an undercover DEA agent in July 2014 and Aug. 2014.  It also alleged that on Aug. 16, 2015, deputies of the Lea County Sherriff’s Office (LCSO) executed a traffic stop on Rodriguez and found her to be in possession of 168 grams of methamphetamine.

During today’s proceedings, Rodriguez pled guilty to a three-count felony information charging her with distribution of methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.  In entering the guilty plea, Rodriguez admitted that (1) on July 29, 2014, she sold 28 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover agent in Hobbs, (2) on Aug. 4, 2014, she sold 56 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover agent in Las Cruces, N.M., and (3) on Aug. 16, 2014, she was stopped by LCSO deputies for a traffic violation during which the deputies found 168 grams of methamphetamine in her vehicle.  Rodriguez further admitted that she had obtained the methamphetamine in Phoenix, Ariz., and planned to sell it in Hobbs.

Rodriguez has been in federal custody since her arrest on June 10, 2015, and remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA and the Lea County Drug Task Force with assistance from the 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Office for the State of New Mexico.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Terri J. Abernathy of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

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 the Tatum Police Department and the Jal Police Department, and is part of the NM 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.