Hobbs Man Sentenced for Federal Firearms Offense

ALBUQUERQUE – A Hobbs man was sentenced to 71 months in prison for discharging a firearm in a neighborhood following a domestic dispute.

There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents, on August 23, 2022, Lazarus Sanders, 25, discharged a firearm towards the sky from a vehicle in a residential neighborhood in Hobbs, New Mexico. Officers spoke to the residents of the home where Sanders had discharged the handgun and determined that Sanders was in a relationship with the homeowner’s daughter and that they had been in a domestic altercation earlier that day. During the altercation, Sanders pointed a firearm at the homeowner’s daughter.

Officers reviewed home security surveillance footage from a nearby house and observed Sanders in a white four-door vehicle with front-end damage discharge approximately three rounds from a firearm outside a residence. Officers determined that another incident had occurred approximately 40 minutes before where Sanders had discharged one round of ammunition from the vehicle in front of the same house.

The officer provided a description of Sanders’ vehicle to other officers on patrol. A short time later, an officer in the area observed a vehicle that matched the description and conducted a felony traffic stop. The officer observed a firearm in plain view and secured the vehicle pending a search warrant.

Upon executing the search warrant, officers found a Taurus 9mm handgun under the driver’s seat with an extended magazine capable of accepting 17 rounds with an additional chambered round for a total of 18 rounds.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Sanders will be required to serve 3 years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Brendan Iber, Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, made the announcement today.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Force investigated this case with assistance from the Lea County Drug Task Force and the Hobbs Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Ry Ellison is prosecuting the case.

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