A man accused in a Four Corners drug trafficking investigation appeared Thursday in Montezuma County Combined Courts.
Prosecutors allege Carlos Miramontes intended to distribute large quantities of illegal drugs. District Attorney Jeremy Reed formally charged the 30-year-old Wednesday with two counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance – both level-one drug felonies.
According to the arrest warrant, he arrived to the Ute Mountain Casino on May 8 with about 38 pounds of methamphetamine and 51,000 fentanyl pills.
He was arrested after allegedly opening the trunk of his Mitsubishi Outlander and revealing the drugs to sell to an undercover officer as part of a prearranged agreement, according to court documents.
The charges came during an undercover operation from the Montezuma-Cortez Narcotics Investigations Team in coordination with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Grand Junction field office. The Sheriff's Office said it was part of a six-month-long undercover investigation that altogether resulted in seizing fentanyl and high-grade crystal methamphetamine valued at an estimated $1.4 million on the street.
The undercover investigation involved collaboration among the local investigations team and several state, federal and county law enforcement agencies.
The defense explained in Thursday’s court hearing that it lacked necessary evidence and discovery documents in the case. Noting the only documents received so far were Miramontes’ criminal history and the May 8 arrest affidavit, the defense said the delay may stem from the involvement of federal agents.
Prosecutor John Goodlander also acknowledged the potential involvement of federal investigators.
“We’re trying to get on top of the discovery; we’ve been asking for it. So, we'll get it soon,” Goodlander said. “I will note for the record there’s also a chance our friends in the federal government might want to sweep in and take this case.”
District Court Judge William Furse set the next hearing for June 25.
During the May 8 arrest, court documents allege the undercover officer, equipped with a hidden recording device, met Miramontes at the casino parking lot for a drug sale.
Miramontes and the officer allegedly spoke briefly before he opened the trunk of his vehicle. The undercover officer told Miramontes that (gender redacted) would retrieve payment for the illegal drugs. Law enforcement officers, according to the arrest affidavit, then “conducted a coordinated tactical takedown of Miramontes and his vehicle.”
Miramontes is a resident of Glendale, Arizona.
According to the arrest affidavit, law enforcement personnel believe Miramontes demonstrated established ties to networks potentially connected to drug cartels in Mexico.
awatson@the-journal.com
