Suzanne Marie Villa, 37, of Carlsbad, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Las Cruces to 24 months in prison for methamphetamine trafficking.
Villa will be on supervised release for three years after completing her prison sentence.
Villa was arrested Aug. 25, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging her with possession of meth with intent to distribute on June 12, 2015, in Eddy County. According to the criminal complaint, Villa was arrested after Pecos Valley Drug Task Force agents notified U.S. Border Patrol agents at the Border Patrol Checkpoint on Highway 62/180 near El Paso, Texas, to be on the lookout for her vehicle based on an investigation indicating Villa would be transporting drugs to Carlsbad.
The Border Patrol later seized 25.7 grams of meth and drug paraphernalia from Villa’s vehicle during a checkpoint inspection.
Villa was subsequently indicted Nov. 19, 2015.
On Jan. 26, Villa pleaded guilty to the indictment. In her plea agreement, she admitted that on June 12, 2015, she was stopped by law enforcement officers and found to be in possession of 25.7 grams of meth together with other items associated with meth trafficking, including a scale, plastic bags, a glass smoking pipe, and $820 in cash.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces Office of the DEA, the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force, and the U.S. Border Patrol. The Pecos Valley Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, the Carlsbad Police Department and the Artesia Police Department, and is part of the HIDTA Region VI Drug Task Force.
