Mexican National Receives 70-Month Prison Sentence for Narcotics Trafficking Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE—Earlier today in federal court in Albuquerque, Erik Alonzo-Martinez, 28, was sentenced to a 70-month term of imprisonment for his narcotics trafficking conviction. Alonzo-Martinez, a citizen of Mexico, will be deported after he completes his prison sentence.

United States Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said that Alonzo-Martinez and his two co-defendants, Jorge Lozoya, 26 and Alejandro Alvarado-Aleman, 27, were arrested as a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and New Mexico State Police (NMSP) during which an undercover NMSP officer purchased cocaine and cocaine base, also known as crack cocaine, from Alonzo-Martinez and his co-defendants.

The three defendants were arrested on narcotics trafficking offenses on September 17, 2009 and have been in federal custody since that time. They were indicted in a five-count indictment on October 8, 2009 charging them as follows: Count 1 charged all three men with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and cocaine base, also known as crack cocaine; Counts 2 and 3 charged Alonzo-Martinez and Lozoya with distributing more than five grams of cocaine base on August 21, 2009 and September 3, 2009, respectively; and Counts 4 and 5 charged all three men with possession of more than five grams of cocaine base and cocaine with intent to distribute.

Alonzo-Martinez entered a guilty plea to Counts 1, 2, and 3 on October 18, 2010 under a plea agreement with the United States Attorney’s Office. In his plea agreement, Alonzo-Martinez admitted selling two ounces of cocaine and two ounces of crack cocaine to an undercover officer in exchange for $4,000 on August 21, 2009 and September 3, 2009. Alonzo-Martinez also admitted that when he and his co-defendants were arrested on September 17, 2009, they were en route to deliver another two ounces of cocaine and two ounces of cocaine base to the undercover officer. The court dismissed Counts 4 and 5 of the indictment after sentencing Alonzo-Martinez.

Co-defendant Alvarado-Aleman pled guilty to Counts 4 and 5 on August 2, 2010, and was sentenced to a 30-month term of imprisonment on February 3, 2011. Co-defendant Lozoya pled guilty to Counts 2 and 3 of the indictment on August 11, 2010, and was sentenced to a 37-month term of imprisonment on February 28, 2011. Alvarado-Aleman and Lozoya are both citizens of Mexico and each will be deported when he completes his prison sentence.

The case was investigated by the FBI and NMSP, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jon K. Stanford.