ALBUQUERQUE – Michael Gibson, 28, of Lovington, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 90 months in prison for his conviction on a methamphetamine trafficking charge. Gibson will be on supervised release for four years after completing his prison sentence.
Gibson was arrested on May 20, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with distribution of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. According to the complaint, on Sept. 10, 2014, Gibson distributed approximately 55.6 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement agent. The complaint further alleges that Gibson possessed a pistol during the drug trafficking transaction, which he placed in his lap during the transaction.
Gibson was indicted on Oct. 14, 2015, and charged with distribution of methamphetamine and carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime on Sept. 10, 2014, in Lea County, N.M. The indictment was subsequently superseded on April 21, 2016. The superseding indictment includes forfeiture provisions requiring Gibson to forfeit $2,900 to the United States.
On July 18, 2016, Gibson pled guilty to Count 1 of the superseding indictment charging him with distribution of methamphetamine. In entering the guilty plea, Gibson admitted that on Sept. 10, 2014, he sold approximately 49.54 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement agent.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Lea County Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Selesia L. Winston and Renee L. Camacho prosecuted the case.
The Lea County Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Lea County Sheriff’s Office, Hobbs Police Department, Lovington Police Department, Eunice Police Department the Tatum Police Department and the Jal Police Department, and is part of the NM HIDTA Region VI Drug Task Force. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.