Pueblo Man Pleads Guilty To Federal Drug Charge

DENVER – Robert Ray Deluna, age 26, of Pueblo, Colorado, pled guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Raymond P. Moore to possession of a controlled substance, U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Denver Field Division Special Agent in Charge Debbie Livingston announced.  Deluna appeared at the hearing in custody, and was remanded at its conclusion.  He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Moore on December 18, 2018.  Deluna was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on June 21, 2018. 

According to the stipulated facts contained in the defendant’s plea agreement, on March 29, 2018, Colorado Department of Correction Parole Officers in Pueblo were out looking for Deluna for violating the terms of his parole.  They found him in the back seat of a vehicle, where he sat with a backpack between his legs.

Pursuant to conditions of his parole, Deluna consented to the search of his property.  The parole officers looked inside the backpack and located two electronic scales and baggies.  Inside the compartment on the rear of the driver’s seat – directly in front of where he was sitting was a .45 caliber pistol and a zippered bag.  Inside the zippered bag were two baggies with Heroin – 4.88 grams in one and .40 grams in the other.  Also in the bag was Deluna’s Colorado Identification Card and his Department of Corrections card.

This case was investigated by the Colorado Department of Corrections Office of Parole, the ATF Denver Field Division and the Pueblo Police Department.  The defendant is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt Bohn.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority.  In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Office to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN was launched in 2001.