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Police seized 14,000 fentanyl pills, firearm silencers, a Bernalillo County sheriff’s badge and nearly $30,000 in separate incidents – a traffic stop and warrant arrest – last week in Southeast Albuquerque.
Rebecca Atkins, an Albuquerque Police Department spokeswoman, said the drugs, guns, cash and other items were found on Timothy Carrera, 35, and Valentina Martinez, 37, in unrelated arrests on July 21 and 27.
Carrera – who was initially pulled over for speeding – is charged with drug trafficking, reckless driving and two counts each of being a felon in possession of a firearm and receiving stolen property.
Martinez is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, shooting at or from a motor vehicle, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and drug trafficking.
Carrera and Martinez have been booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center. It is unclear if either has an attorney.
According to separate criminal complaints filed in Metropolitan Court:
On July 21, an Albuquerque police officer was patrolling near Copper and Vermont SE when they saw Carrera speeding in a Cadillac with no license plate. Police say Carrera nearly t-boned another vehicle before he was pulled over.
Carrera told police he was “driving recklessly” because he and his girlfriend were arguing and “he was mad.” Police noticed a gun and cash inside the Cadillac and the car was sealed pending a search warrant.
Police searched the vehicle last Wednesday and found $13,000 in cash bundles, a Bernalillo County sheriff’s badge in the glove box and more than 7,000 fentanyl pills. Police also found three guns, two silencers – one of them stolen out of Rio Rancho – and a pistol-to-rifle conversion kit.
Carrera’s criminal history includes multiple arrests for drug trafficking, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, armed robbery and stolen vehicle charges, among others. At the time of the latest arrest, Carrera was under conditions of release in a pending 2021 trafficking case where he allegedly sold meth to an undercover State Police officer on three occasions.
Martinez’s arrest stemmed from a neighbor dispute.
On July 18, police responded to Gold and Sycamore after a woman reported Martinez had pointed a gun at her and shot her vehicle. The woman told police Martinez, who was her aunt and neighbor, sells fentanyl outside the apartments and she had told her to stop before the shooting occurred.
She said Martinez shot at her vehicle, said she “would be back” and drove off.
In the days that followed, Martinez allegedly went to the woman’s apartment threatening to “kill the kids” if she pressed charges. Police relocated the woman, her children and boyfriend from the apartment for their safety, and tracked Martinez to an apartment near Vassar and Garfield SE.
Police arrested Martinez, who denied pointing a gun at her niece or shooting the vehicle, and said she buys fentanyl to support her own habit, but doesn’t sell. Martinez told police she had received a notice in the mail stating she was being charged in the shooting.
Police searched Martinez’s SUV, her apartment and the apartment where she was found. The search turned up two guns, dozens of fentanyl pills and a purple safe in a duffel bag.
Police obtained a search warrant for the safe and found another gun, more than 7,000 fentanyl pills and $14,000 in cash bundles.
Martinez’s criminal history includes arrests for drug possession, shoplifting, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, rabies violations related to ferrets, assault, and shooting at a dwelling or occupied building.
Prosecutors have filed a motion to detain Martinez, saying she has “no regard for the safety of others.”
