Santa Fe Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Drug Trafficking and Firearms Offenses

ALBUQUERQUE – A previously convicted felon was sentenced to 120 months in prison for possessing and distributing heroin and methamphetamine while illegally possessing firearms.

There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court records, the early morning hours of July 8, 2020, officers from the Española Police Department responded to a 911 call reporting a suspicious vehicle parked outside a residence. Officers found Antonio Quintana-Pena, 40, unconscious behind the wheel of a gray Nissan. In his lap was a silver and black box containing a baseball-sized bundle of heroin. Officers also recovered a loaded, stolen pistol from beneath the driver's seat, along with methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and more than $2,000 in cash.

Later that year, on November 19, 2020, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Quintana-Pena’s residence in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Inside his bedroom, agents found over 190 grams of methamphetamine and nearly 100 grams of heroin stored in safes, along with multiple loaded firearms. Ammunition, cash, and additional narcotics were also recovered from the room.

Quintana-Pena, a previously convicted felon, admitted to knowingly possessing the drugs with intent to distribute and to carrying the firearms in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities. He also acknowledged knowing he was prohibited from possessing firearms due to prior felony convictions. Upon his release from prison, Quintana-Pena will be subject to five years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Philip Russell, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Santa Fe Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Española Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney David B. Hirsch prosecuted the case.