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Feds charge 16 in Las Cruces drug trafficking case
Drug paraphernalia found at Kenneth Yeager's residence by agents from Homeland Security Investigations. Yeager's property is suspected to be at the epicenter of a drug trafficking operation in Las Cruces.
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The federal government has charged 16 people in a monthslong drug trafficking scheme in Las Cruces, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.
The defendants are collectively facing 92 counts that include possession of a firearm by a felon, operating a drug-involved premises, as well as possession of and intention to distribute drugs, primarily fentanyl and methamphetamine.
The defendants include Armando “Forty” Gonzales, 43, Leticia Rodriguez, 41, Jessica “JJ” Henderson, 45, Antonio Valles, 49, Veronica Levario, 39, Richard Regan Beserra, 47, Daniel “Fat Boy” Herrera, 33, Ernesto Flores, 63, Beatriz Gonzales, 46, Sylvia Parra, 52, Amanda Weinrich, 38, Phillip “Flip” Estell, 43, D’Anna Chavez, 47 and Bruce King, 68.
Two defendants, Angel Flores, 45, and Kenneth Yeager, 44, were charged separately with possession of meth and firearms and maintaining a house where drugs were used, stored and sold, respectively.
The defendants are charged in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico.
An additional eight people are facing state charges and were not named in the news release. The Journal reached out to the Department of Justice for the additional defendant’s names but did not receive a reply.
The monthslong investigation involved federal agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Marshals Service, and officers from the Las Cruces Police Department and Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office.
While the defendants sold drugs to others, the indictment indicates many of the transactions were among each other.
The scheme spanned six properties in Las Cruces and Anthony, the primary of which is owned by Yeager, the news release said.
On July 27, LCPD officers responded to an overdose call at Yeager’s property, according to the criminal complaint filed in the case against Yeager. Upon arriving, officers found Beserra and a body. Medical reports later confirmed that the victim died of an overdose of meth and fentanyl.
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Further investigation into Yeager alleges that his home was a hub of drug use and trafficking, according to the complaint. Yeager’s roommates often traded and bartered for items using meth and fentanyl pills. The items listed in the indictment include $60 in food stamps, a pressure washer, a television and a trailer.
According to the complaint, Yeager also accepted drugs as rent payments from the other defendants.
Wednesday, Homeland Security Investigation agents raided the house and found 17 people, drug paraphernalia and fentanyl pills.
In multiple instances, defendants sold drugs or firearms to undercover agents, according to the indictment.
During raids at several properties this week, agents seized 842 grams of fentanyl, 1,118 grams of meth, 285 grams of cocaine, 36 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, 400 grams of marijuana and 96 grams of hydrocodone, according to the release. Earlier in the year, the largest quantity authorities seized from the defendants was 1,315 grams of meth and 4,000 fentanyl pills.
Yeager faces up to 20 years in prison, while other defendants face anywhere from five years to life sentences.
