Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

ALBUQUERQUE –This morning a U.S. Magistrate Judge sitting in Las Cruces, N.M., found probable cause to support a criminal complaint charging Michael Dalton, 33, of Roswell, N.M., with violating the federal firearms laws.  The Magistrate Judge also entered an order detaining Dalton pending trial.

Dalton was arrested on June 7, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.  The criminal complaint alleges that Dalton committed the crime on Aug. 28, 2015, in Chaves County, N.M.

According to the criminal complaint, Roswell Police Department (RPD) officers responded to a call from Dalton’s neighbor who allegedly heard Dalton arguing with and threatening to shoot a woman.  The neighbor then allegedly heard gunshots coming from Dalton’s residence.  When the officers then executed a state search warrant at Dalton’s residence, they allegedly located multiple rounds of ammunition and three firearms.

The criminal complaint alleges that Dalton was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition on Aug. 28, 2015, because of his previous convictions for larceny, possession of a controlled substance, burglary, tampering with evidence, possession of burglary tools, breaking and entering, aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer and forgery.

If convicted of the crimes charged in the criminal complaint, Dalton faces a statutory maximum sentence of ten years in prison.  Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the RPD.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander B. Shapiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case. 

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