Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Artesia Man Sentenced to 75 Months for Federal Drug Trafficking and Firearms Conviction
ALBUQUERQUE – Timothy Caleb Martinez, 28, of Artesia, N.M., was sentenced today in Las Cruces, N.M., to 75 months in prison for his conviction on methamphetamine trafficking and firearms charges. Martinez will be on supervised release for five year after completing his prison sentence.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives charged Martinez in a criminal complaint filed on Aug. 4, 2017, with possession of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR). According to the complaint, law enforcement officers seized approximately 48.73 grams of pure methamphetamine, a firearm and ammunition while executing a search warrant at Martinez’s residence on Nov. 18, 2014, in Eddy County, N.M.
On June 20, 2018, Martinez pled guilty to a felony information charging him with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of an unregistered short-barreled shotgun. Martinez entered the guilty plea without the benefit of a plea agreement.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, the Carlsbad Police Department, and the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Clara N. Cobos of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office prosecuted the case.
The Pecos Valley Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, Carlsbad Police Department and Artesia Police Department and is part of the HIDTA Region VI Drug Task Force. 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.
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