U.S. Border Patrol Arrests Texas Man Based on 18-Pound Methamphetamine Seizure at Checkpoint in New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE – This morning, a U.S. Magistrate Judge sitting in Las Cruces, N.M., found probable cause to support a criminal complaint charging Joshua Alexander Jimenez, 23, of El Paso, Texas, with a methamphetamine trafficking offense arising out of the seizure of 18 pounds of methamphetamine at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in southern New Mexico on Feb. 26, 2018.  Jimenez was remanded into custody pending trial, which has yet to be scheduled.

U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Jimenez on Feb. 26, 2018, after seizing approximately 8.25 kilograms (18.2 pounds) of methamphetamine allegedly concealed in Jimenez’s vehicle.  According to the criminal complaint, the agents found the methamphetamine while inspecting the vehicle at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on Highway 54 south of Alamogordo, N.M., in Otero County, N.M.

If convicted of the charges in the criminal complaint, Jimenez faces a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of ten years and a maximum of life in federal prison.  Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Border Patrol and the Las Cruces office of the DEA.  Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joni Autrey is prosecuting the case.