Joseph Ray Mendiola, 35, of Roswell, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Las Cruces to methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking charges. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Mendiola will be sentenced within the range of 120-180 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
Mendiola is one of 41 individuals charged in September 2015 with drug trafficking offenses as a result of an eight-month, multi-agency investigation. The investigation, which was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program, initially targeted a drug trafficking organization (DTO) allegedly led by Mendiola, that distributed meth in Chaves County. It later expanded to include drug traffickers who allegedly supplied meth to the Mendiola DTO and other drug traffickers operating in Chaves County.
Mendiola and 15 other federal defendants were charged in a 24-count indictment filed Sept. 22, 2015. During the course of the investigation, law enforcement officers executed 14 federal search warrants for 10 residences in Roswell, one residence in Dexter, and three vehicles. During the execution of those search warrants, the officers seized approximately 5,600 grams of methamphetamine, $35,960 in cash, and multiple firearms, including two assault rifles.
During Tuesday’s proceedings, Mendiola pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess meth and cocaine with intent to distribute, and possession of meth with intent to distribute. To date, all but one of Mendiola’s co-defendants have entered guilty pleas.
