By Roger Lanse

The Grant County Sheriff's Department and the Silver City Police Department were part of a multi-agency probe led by Homeland Security Investigations into methamphetamine trafficking in and around Deming.

Four Deming residents, Domingo Rodriguez, 45; Leslie Frank Williams, 51; Oscar Garcia, 45; Andy Garcia, 43; and a Tucson resident, Estella Aguilar, 44, were charged with narcotics trafficking and money laundering on Thursday, May 19, in Las Cruces federal court.

The charges were announced by U. S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Waldemar Rodriguez of HSI - El Paso, Luna County Sheriff Jonathan Mooradian, Grant County Sheriff Raul Villanueva, Chief Ed Reynolds of the Silver City Police Department and Chief Brandon Gigante of the Deming Police Department.

According to a press release, the investigation included a series of meth purchases by individuals working under the supervision of law enforcement officers, during which, authorities seized and purchased more than two pounds of meth, and seized more than another pound during law enforcement operations on Thursday, May 19.

Williams and Rodriguez were arrested Thursday, May 19, the release said, and made their initial appearance in federal court on Friday, May 20. Oscar Garcia is in state custody in Oklahoma and Andy Garcia is in state custody in New Mexico, both on unrelated charges. Aguilar has yet to be arrested and is considered a fugitive.

If convicted on the meth charges, each of the five defendants face a statutory mandated sentence of from 10 years to life in prison. If convicted of money laundering, Rodriguez, Oscar Garcia, and Aguilar each face a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The indictment also includes forfeiture provisions seeking a money judgment of $1 million, the sum allegedly derived from the drug trafficking crimes.