ALBUQUERQUE – Cecilia Pocasangre, 41, a legal permanent resident from El Salvador, pled guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to a methamphetamine trafficking charge arising out of a 7.5-pound seizure of methamphetamine at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint.
Pocasangre was arrested in April 2016, and charged in a criminal complaint with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The complaint alleged that Pocasangre committed the crime on April 6, 2016, in Doña Ana County, N.M. Pocasangre was arrested after U.S. Border Patrol agents at the Border Patrol Checkpoint on Interstate 25 in Doña Ana County found approximately 3.41 kilograms (7.5 pounds) of methamphetamine concealed in Pocasangre’s vehicle during a routine inspection.
During today’s proceedings, Pocasangre pled guilty to a felony information charging her with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and admitted possessing 3.41 kilograms of methamphetamine, which were found during a routine inspection of her vehicle at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint.
At sentencing, Pocasangre faces a statutory minimum penalty of ten years and a maximum of life in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Border Patrol and the Las Cruces office of the DEA. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John A. Balla and Terri J. Abernathy of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office are prosecuting the case.