U.S. Attorney's Office Secures Guilty Plea from Recidivist Offender in Santa Fe Drug Trafficking Case

ALBUQUERQUE – A repeat offender from Espanola pleaded guilty in federal court to federal drug trafficking charges.

According to publicly available court documents, on February 23, 2022, while on probation, Jeremy Isaac Lopez, 29, committed an armed robbery in Santa Fe County, New Mexico. He was subsequently charged and placed on house arrest with GPS monitoring as part of his pretrial release conditions.

On March 30, 2023, a bench warrant was issued for Lopez after he intentionally removed his GPS ankle monitor.

On April 19, 2023, Lopez was located and apprehended at the Cities of Gold Casino in Santa Fe, New Mexico, by the Pueblo of Pojoaque Tribal Police Department. During the arrest, officers discovered Lopez was in possession of multiple controlled substances, including:

• Heroin
• More than 5 grams of methamphetamine
• Over 40 grams of a mixture containing fentanyl.

According to public records, Lopez was subsequently convicted by the State of New Mexico for the armed robbery.

Lopez will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.

At sentencing, Lopez faces up no less than five years and up to 40 years in prison followed no less than four years and up to lifetime of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Santa Fe Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with the assistance of the Pueblo of Pojoaque Tribal Police Department, Chief Freddie Trujillo of the Pojoaque Tribal Police Department, and the Espanola Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert James Booth II is prosecuting the case.

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