Two more members of Taos County heroin ring plead guilty
Two more defendants charged in connection with a Taos County-based heroin drug ring have entered guilty pleas in federal court in Albuquerque.
Elena Carabajal, 26, of Taos County and Wilma Romero, 66, of Arroyo Hondo entered the guilty pleas Jan. 5, bringing the total count to six in the federal case, according to a news release from Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth M. Martinez.
Carabajal pleaded guilty to possessing heroin with intent to distribute. She also admitted to helping Ricco Romero, 29, also charged in the case, to distribute heroin. According to the release, Carabajal acknowledged that law enforcement agents seized $69,752 in cash and approximately 95.8 grams of heroin while executing a federal search warrant at a residence, as well as vehicles and safes that she shared with Ricco Romero.
Under the terms of the deal, Carabajal will be sentenced to a maximum of 30 months in prison, followed by supervised release to be determined by the court.
Wilma Romero pleaded guilty to a money laundering conspiracy charge and a heroin trafficking charge. The terms of Romero's agreement dictate that she will spend a maximum of 24 months in prison, followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
Other agreements
The guilty pleas follow four others previously submitted in the case.
Tyler Baker, 45, of Taos County entered a guilty plea in October 2016. Details of that agreement were not available as of press time.
Ivan Romero, 40, identified as the "leader" of the drug ring, pleaded guilty Dec. 5 to counts one and two of the indictment, charging him with participating in a heroin trafficking conspiracy and a money laundering conspiracy.
Ricco Romero pleaded guilty the same day to participating in a heroin trafficking conspiracy and a money laundering conspiracy, as well as to possessing firearms "in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities."
Melissa Romero, 37, entered a guilty plea three days later, on Dec. 8, to count two, charging her with participating in a money laundering conspiracy.
All nine defendants in the case face heroin trafficking and money laundering charges – the result of a 15-month "DEA-led, multi-agency investigation" into the drug ring.
Processing
After an initial eight-count indictment was filed in December 2015, the case was "superseded" in February 2016 to add Carabajal as a ninth defendant, as well as five additional charges, according to the release.
The current indictment charges Carabajal, Wilma Romero, Ivan Romero, Ricco Romero and five other defendants with "conspiring to distribute heroin from at least June 2012 through [December] 2015."
Ivan Romero, Ricco Romero, Melissa Romero and Wilma Romero each face an additional charge for "conspiring to launder heroin trafficking proceeds."
Case recap
According to court filings, Ivan Romero led the operation based in Taos County. He and his brother, Ricco Romero, were allegedly purchasing large quantities of heroin from suppliers based in Albuquerque and Los Lunas.
Other members of the organization acted as "runners," transporting processed and packaged heroin to the Taos County-based drug ring, where it was then mixed or "cut" with other substances before being distributed locally or to other drug networks in the area.
A state search warrant executed April 2, 2015, allowed state police to investigate Ivan Romero's residence, where they allegedly discovered 300 grams of heroin, 30 grams of hashish, 461 grams of marijuana and $64,920 cash. After Ivan Romero was arrested on state charges the day of the search, Ricco Romero began to play a more pivotal "managerial role" to keep the operation in action, according to the report.
Ivan Romero's bond was set at $90,000 at the time. He, along with Ricco Romero, Melissa Romero and others, allegedly conspired to launder large sums of their heroin proceeds to post bond and secure release. Though they were successful, Ivan Romero soon violated the terms of release and was again taken into custody – his bond raised to $150,000. In May 2015, they again conspired to launder money to post bail.
Near the end of 2015, on Nov. 17 and Dec. 1, Ricco Romero allegedly distributed heroin to an "individual working with law enforcement agents." On Dec. 18, law enforcement was able to obtain and execute a second search warrant at Ricco Romero's residence and a "stash house" where the suspect maintained a safe.
During the searches, agents seized 96.8 grams of heroin, $70,562 in cash and two firearms.
When asked last month about the impact these plea deals have had on heroin trafficking in Taos County, Eighth Judicial District Attorney Donald Gallegos said, "It had a huge impact. Everything dried up. But like with anything else, there were plenty of people waiting in the wings to take over. In fact, I would not be surprised if the amount of drugs being trafficked are now back to the levels that they were before these guys got taken out – or at least close to it. That’s the way the cartels work. If you take away a distributor – an interruption in their supply – they’re going to fill that spot real quick."
Read the full Gallegos interview here.
The investigation has been conducted by the Albuquerque office of the DEA, the HIDTA Region III Drug Task Force, New Mexico State Police, Taos Police Department, Taos County Sheriff's Office and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy S. Vasquez is prosecuting the case as part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative, which was launched in January 2015.
