West Texas man pleads guilty in NM 'spice' trafficking case

LAS CRUCES, N.M. — An El Paso, Texas, man pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to participating in a conspiracy to distribute controlled substance analogues, commonly known as “spice.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated this case.

Juan C. Chavez, 39, will be sentenced to 18 months in prison under the terms of his plea agreement. Co-defendant, David Molinar, 34, also of El Paso, pleaded guilty Aug. 19 in the same case to unlawfully selling drug paraphernalia. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Molinar will be sentenced to 15 months in prison. Each will serve a term of supervised release to be determined by the court after they complete their prison sentences.

Chavez, Molinar and co-defendants Tasha S. Garcia, 30, of El Paso; and Kenia N. Liberato, 27, of Sunland Park, New Mexico, were charged in an eight-count indictment filed Sept. 16, 2015. The indictment charges all four defendants with conspiring to distribute “spice” from June 2012 through Sept. 2015. It also charged Molinar and Chavez with maintaining a place for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing and using spice, and three counts of possessing spice. Molinar, Chavez and Garcia also were charged with distributing “spice” and selling drug paraphernalia in May 2014, and distributing spice in June 2015. According to the indictment, the defendants committed these crimes in Doña Ana County, New Mexico.

During the Aug. 24 proceedings, Chavez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substance analogues. In entering his guilty plea, Chavez admitted that from June 2012 through September 2015, he owned and operated a head shop known as “Station Recreation.” While operating this shop, Chavez agreed and acted with his co-defendants to distribute spice.

Molinar, who pleaded guilty Aug. 19 to selling drug paraphernalia, admitted that he was the co-owner of a smoke shop in Sunland Park; on May 29, 2014, one of his employees sold drug paraphernalia at the smoke shop.

Sentencing hearings for Chavez and Molinar have yet to be scheduled.

The charges against Garcia have been dismissed; Liberato is participating in a pre-trial diversion program. 

The following agencies also participated in this investigation: Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Border Patrol, Anthony (New Mexico) Police Department, El Paso Police Department,  El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Attorney General’s Office, and Charleston (West Virginia) Police Department. 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark A. Saltman and John Balla of the Las Cruces Branch Office of the District of New Mexico are prosecuting this case.

The controlled substance analogues charged in the indictment are commonly referred to as synthetic cannabinoids, or “spice.” According to the DEA, over the past several years, there has been a growing use of synthetic cannabinoids. Smoke-able herbal blends marketed as being “legal” and providing a marijuana-like high have become increasingly popular because they are easily available and, in many cases, more potent and dangerous than marijuana. These products consist of plant material that has been coated with dangerous psychoactive compounds that mimic THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. These substances, however, have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for human consumption, and there is no oversight of the manufacturing process. Synthetic cannabinoids often are labeled as incense to mask their intended purpose.