Police discovered six sticks of deteriorating dynamite on Oct. 20, 2023, at a home in Española. Courtesy/FBI
FBI News:
ALBUQUERQUE — An Española man was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison following a series of law enforcement actions that uncovered illegal firearms, narcotics, and unstable explosives.
There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court records, Aug. 1, 2023, Pojoaque Police Department officers conducted a traffic stop on a sedan with expired registration driven by Mario James Valdez, 35. Inside the car, officers located two loaded “ghost guns”, one of which was outfitted with a non-functioning machinegun conversion device, a loaded and stolen handgun, fentanyl, additional ammunition, a police scanner, 377 blue pills marked M30 and 42 grams of crack cocaine. Valdez was released after serving one day in custody.
Sept. 15, 2023, Valdez was arrested again for shoplifting and on an outstanding state warrant. During this arrest, officers found fentanyl, Xanax, crack cocaine, and ammunition on Valdez’s person. In recorded jail calls between Oct. 15 and 18, 2023, Valdez discussed having additional firearms and sticks of dynamite stored at a house in Española, warning of their instability and danger.
Oct. 20, 2023, law enforcement executed a search warrant at the Española residence. In Valdez’s bedroom, officers discovered six sticks of deteriorating dynamite, a shotgun, and an AR-style rifle. Additional rifles, including those referenced in the jail calls, were found in another bedroom.
Due to the hazardous condition of the dynamite, law enforcement destroyed it for public safety. As a previously convicted felon, Valdez was prohibited from possessing firearms, ammunition and explosives.
Valdez pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and being a felon in possession of explosive material. Upon his release from prison, Valdez will be subject to three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Philip Russell, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement Tuesday.
The FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Pojoaque Police Department, New Mexico State Police and Española Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney David B. Hirsch is prosecuting the case.
