NM woman pleads guilty to methamphetamine trafficking charges
Defendant faces 10-year-sentence under the terms of her plea agreement
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — A New Mexico woman pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to methamphetamine trafficking charges.
Special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated this case.
Norma Patricia Rivera, 40, from Deming, New Mexico, will be sentenced to 10 years in federal prison under the terms of her plea agreement. Her prison term is to be followed by supervised release to be determined by the court.
Rivera was arrested in May on a criminal complaint alleging that she possessed methamphetamine with intent to distribute May 20 in Luna County, New Mexico. According to the complaint, HSI special agents executed a search warrant at a residence in Luna County where they seized about 723 grams (25.5 ounces) of a methamphetamine mixture in liquid and crystal form.
On Aug. 19, Rivera was subsequently charged in a two-count indictment. She is charged with distributing methamphetamine July 17, 2014 in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, and possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute May 20 in Luna County.
During proceedings Oct. 15, Rivera pleaded guilty to the indictment and admitted that on July 17, 2014, in Las Cruces, she sold 162.18 grams of methamphetamine to an individual working with law enforcement. Rivera further admitted that on May 20 in Deming, she possessed liquid and crystal methamphetamine that she intended to sell to other individuals. Rivera remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing that has yet to be scheduled.
The FBI, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Regional Interagency Drug Task Force/Metro Narcotics Task Force, and the Deming Police Department assisted in this investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander B. Shapiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting this case.
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