Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Hobbs Man Pleads Guilty to Assaulting a Federal Law Enforcement Officer
Defendant Admits Pointing Firearm at DEA Task Force Officer
ALBUQUERQUE – Felipe T. Castillo, 38, of Hobbs, N.M., pled guilty yesterday afternoon in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to assaulting a federal law enforcement officer under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Castillo was arrested on June 13, 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to the complaint, Castillo pointed a firearm at a DEA Task Force Officer on May 31, 2017, in Lea County, N.M. The complaint further indicates that Castillo was on parole for a prior firearms offense when he assaulted the Task Force Officer by pointing a firearm at him. Court documents indicate that Castillo was previously convicted in Texas of engaging in organized criminal activity in 2000, and discharging a firearm in 2002.
During yesterday’s change of plea hearing, Castillo pled guilty to a felony information charging him with assault on a federal officer. In entering the guilty plea, Castillo admitted that on May 31, 2017, he pointed a firearm at a DEA Task Force Agent who was engaged in his official duties.
At sentencing, Castillo faces a maximum penalty of eight years in federal prison. Castillo remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and FBI and the Hobbs Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Terri J. Abernathy and Dustin Segovia of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office are prosecuting the case.
###
17-462