Man From Albuquerque Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug and Firearm Possession Charges
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. –Raymond Maestas, 43, of Albuquerque, New Mexico pleaded guilty in federal court in Albuquerque on Feb. 4 to charges of possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute heroin, carrying a firearm during and relation to a drug trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
A grand jury indicted Maestas for these offenses on June 27, 2019. In his plea agreement, Maestas admitted committing these offenses in Bernalillo County on Feb. 14, 2017. He rear-ended another vehicle while driving in Albuquerque. When police came to tow his vehicle, they discovered a backpack on the rear floor board containing a semi-automatic handgun, 98.5 grams of heroin, and 48 grams of Methamphetamine. Maestas was forbidden from possessing any firearms at the time of these offenses because he was previously convicted of trafficking heroin.
Maestas is currently in custody awaiting sentencing. He faces up to 12 to 16 years in federal prison under the terms of his plea agreement.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated this case with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Albuquerque Police Department, New Mexico State Police, and the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jim Tierney and Kimberly A. Brawley are prosecuting the case.
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