Roswell Man Sentenced to Five Years for Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE – Eric J.D. Contreras, 33, of Roswell, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 60 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction.

Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force (CCMNTF) agents arrested Contreras in Nov. 2017, after finding approximately 100.8 grams of methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia, on Contreras and in his vehicle while executing a state search warrant. 

Contreras subsequently was indicted on April 18, 2018, and was charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and with being a felon in possession of a firearm.  According to the indictment, Contreras committed the offenses on Nov. 29, 2017, in Chaves County, N.M.  At the time, Contreras was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his prior felony convictions for possession of an unregistered firearm made from a shotgun and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. 

On June 19, 2018, Contreras pled guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.  In entering the guilty plea, Contreras admitted that on Nov. 29, 2017, CCMNTF agents executed a state search warrant on his vehicle and found methamphetamine concealed in the engine compartment.  Contreras admitted that he intended to distribute the methamphetamine to others. 

This case was investigated by the DEA and the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joni Autrey of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.

The HIDTA Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of investigators from the Roswell Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and the Chaves County Sherriff’s Office.  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.