ALBUQUERQUE – Nathaniel Eddie Madrid, 39, of Roswell, N.M., pled guilty this afternoon in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to violating the federal firearms laws by unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition.
Madrid was arrested on April 18, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition and possession of a firearm not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR) in Lincoln County, N.M. According to the complaint, law enforcement officers recovered three firearms, ammunition, marijuana and drug paraphernalia from Madrid’s vehicle. A search of the NFRTR also revealed that Madrid did not have any firearms registered in his name.
Madrid subsequently was indicted on Aug. 17, 2016, and charged with being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition on Oct. 26, 2015, in Lincoln County. According to the indictment, Madrid was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his prior convictions for possession of a controlled substance, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, breaking and entering, armed robbery with a deadly weapon, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Court documents indicate that Madrid was on probation for a conviction for being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition when he was arrested.
During today’s proceedings, Madrid pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement. At sentencing, Madrid faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. He remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the New Mexico State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred J. Perez of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.