Otero County Man Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison for Violating the Federal Firearms Laws

ALBUQUERQUE – David Ausborn Hiles, 49, of La Luz, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 70 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.  Hiles was also ordered to forfeit 36 firearms and approximately 15,000 rounds of ammunition. 

Hiles was arrested in Feb. 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.  The complaint charged Hiles with unlawfully possessing 36 firearms and ammunition at his residence in Otero County, N.M., on Nov. 25, 2014.  According to the criminal complaint, the New Mexico State Police found the firearms and ammunition while executing a search warrant at Hiles’ residence. 

Hiles was subsequently indicted on the same charge on April 14, 2015.  Accorindg to the indictment, Hiles was prohibited from possessing either firearms or ammunition because he previously has been convicted of the felony offenses of attempting to manufacture methamphetamine, tampering with evidence, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and intimidation of a witness.

On Jan. 14, 2016, Hiles pled guilty to a felony information charging him with being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.  Hiles admitted that on Nov. 25, 2014, he was in possession of 36 firearms and approximately 15,000 rounds of miscellaneous ammunition. 

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the New Mexico State Police, with assistance from the 12th Judicial District Attorney’s Office for the State of New Mexico.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo prosecuted the case.