Roswell Felon Pleads Guilty to Unlawfully Possessing Firearm and Ammunition

ALBUQUERQUE – Valarie Martinez, 32, of Roswell, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to violating the federal firearms laws by being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Martinez was arrested in Feb. 2018, on a criminal complaint charging her with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on Jan. 16, 2018, in Chaves County, N.M.  According to the complaint, Roswell Police Department (RPD) officers arrested Martinez after locating a bag containing a firearm and ammunition that Martinez discarded while fleeing from the scene of a suspected breaking and entering of a dwelling.  Martinez was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of her prior felony convictions.

During today’s proceedings, Martinez pled guilty to a felony information charging her with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  In entering the guilty plea, Martinez admitted that on Jan. 16, 2018, she was in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  Martinez acknowledged that she was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of her status as a convicted felon.

At sentencing, Martinez faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison.  She remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the RPD and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brock E. Taylor and Richard C. Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.