ALBUQUERQUE – Shannon Lamont Jackson, 38, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today to a federal heroin trafficking charge. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Jackson will be sentenced to 77 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
Jackson was arrested on Dec. 3, 2015, on an indictment charging him with distributing heroin on Sept. 6, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M. During today’s proceedings, Jackson pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that in Sept. 2015, he negotiated the sale of 20 grams of heroin with undercover FBI agents. Jackson remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’ Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana B. Long is prosecuting the case as part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative.
The HOPE Initiative was launched in January 2015 by the UNM Health Sciences Center and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in response to the national opioid epidemic, which has had a disproportionately devastating impact on New Mexico. Opioid addiction has taken a toll on public safety, public health and the economic viability of our communities. Working in partnership with the DEA, the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative, Healing Addiction in our Community (HAC), the Albuquerque Public Schools and other community stakeholders, HOPE’s principal goals are to protect our communities from the dangers associated with heroin and opioid painkillers and reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in New Mexico.
The HOPE Initiative is comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. HOPE’s law enforcement component is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin and opioid trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative. Learn more about the New Mexico HOPE Initiative at http://www.HopeInitiativeNM.org.