Taos County Man Sentenced to Four Years in Federal Prison for Oxycodone Trafficking Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE – Joseph Cordova, 31, of Chamisal, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a 48-month prison term followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on an Oxycodone trafficking charge.  The sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney, Acting Special Agent in Charge Steve Borak of the El Paso Division of the DEA, and New Mexico State Police Chief Pete N. Kassetas. 

Cordova appeared in court on Sept. 30, 2016, on an indictment charging him with possessing Oxycodone, heroin, cocaine and methadone with intent to distribute.  The indictment alleged that Cordova committed the crimes on June 5, 2016, in Taos County, N.M.

On June 5, 2017, Cordova pled guilty to Count 1 of the indictment charging him with possessing Oxycodone with intent to distribute.  In entering the guilty plea, Cordova admitted that on June 5, 2016, officers of the New Mexico State Police found more than 1,000 Oxycodone pills while searching Cordova’s vehicle.  Cordova admitted that he intended to distribute the pills to others. 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and the New Mexico State Police.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter J. Eicker prosecuted the case as part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative.  The HOPE Initiative was launched in January 2015 by the UNM Health Sciences Center and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in response to the national opioid epidemic, which has had a disproportionately devastating impact on New Mexico.  Opioid addiction has taken a toll on public safety, public health and the economic viability of our communities.  Working in partnership with the DEA, the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative, Healing Addiction in our Community (HAC), the Albuquerque Public Schools and other community stakeholders, HOPE’s principal goals are to protect our communities from the dangers associated with heroin and opioid painkillers and reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in New Mexico. 

The HOPE Initiative is comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning.  HOPE’s law enforcement component is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners.  Targeting members of major heroin and opioid trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative.  Learn more about the New Mexico HOPE Initiative at http://www.HopeInitiativeNM.org.