Another member of Taos County heroin drug ring pleads guilty
A seventh defendant charged in connection to a heroin trafficking and money laundering operation in Taos County has entered a guilty plea in federal court in Albuquerque.
According to a news release from Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth M. Martinez, Nicholas Baca, 31, pleaded guilty Feb. 7 to a felony charging him with conspiracy to distribute heroin. Six of Baca's co-defendants – among a total of nine charged in connection to what is thought to have been one of the more lucrative drug operations in the Taos area – had previously entered guilty pleas in the case.
Baca and the seven other defendants were originally charged with heroin trafficking and money laundering charges in an eight-count indictment filed in December 2015. That indictment was superseded in February 2016 to add Elena Carabajal, 26, as a ninth defendant, as well as five additional charges.
The superseding indictment charged Baca, Ivan Romero, 40, Ricco Romero, 29, Melissa Romero, 37, and Wilma Romero, 66, with conspiring to launder heroin trafficking proceeds. "Substantive" heroin trafficking charges were also levied against certain defendants, including Baca. The superseding indictment also included provisions seeking the forfeiture of all assets and property derived from the operation "directly or indirectly" from the defendants' criminal activities to the United States.
In entering his plea, Baca admits that, in early 2015, he began receiving approximately six grams of heroin per day from Ivan Romero, who has been identified in Baca's and six other plea admissions as the leader of the drug ring. While a portion of that allotment was for Baca's own personal use, it is estimated that Baca distributed between 100 to 400 grams of heroin to others in and around the Questa area during his involvement with the drug ring.
According to court records, Baca was arrested on April 2, 2015, in a parking lot north of Taos after he was observed visiting Ivan Romero's residence, where he would go each day to pick up his allotment of heroin. During the arrest, law enforcement seized approximately 6.2 grams of heroin.
Under the terms of the plea deal, Baca faces up to 33 months in federal prison, followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
The investigation leading to the indictments has been conducted by the Albuquerque office of the Drug Enforcement Agency, the HIDTA Region III Drug Task Force, New Mexico State Police, Taos Police Department, Taos County Sheriff's Office and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy S. Vasquez is prosecuting the case as part of the Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative, which was launched in January 2015 to combat the national opioid epidemic.
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