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Gallup man sentenced to 10 years for federal meth trafficking conviction

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Staff Reports

Diaz prosecuted as part of “worst of the worst” anti-violence initiative

ALBUQUERQUE – Dexter Diaz, 32, of Gallup, was sentenced in federal court in Albuquerque on Oct. 11 to 120 months in prison for his conviction on a methamphetamine trafficking charge.

Diaz will be on supervised release for five years following his prison sentence.

The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Will R. Glaspy of the DEA’s El Paso Division, McKinley County Sheriff Ronald Silversmith, and Chief Timothy Trimble of the Zuni Pueblo Tribal Police Department.

Diaz, whose criminal history includes felony convictions for three drug trafficking crimes, is being prosecuted as part of the federal “worst of the worst” anti-violence initiative.

Under the initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders primarily based on their prior felony convictions for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

Because New Mexico’s violent crime rates, on a per capita basis, are amongst the highest in the nation, New Mexico’s law enforcement community is collaborating to target repeat offenders from counties with the highest violent crime rates, including McKinley County, under this initiative.

Diaz was arrested in September of 2015, on an indictment charging him with distributing methamphetamine on March 26, 2015, in McKinley County. The indictment included forfeiture allegations requiring Diaz to forfeit $1,600 in drug proceeds to the United States.

On Feb. 25, 2016, Diaz entered a guilty plea to the indictment.  In entering the guilty plea, Diaz admitted that on March 26, 2015, he sold two ounces of methamphetamine to another person for $1,600.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA, the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office and the Zuni Pueblo Tribal Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Jon Ganjei is prosecuting the case.

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