Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
A Tucumcari man stands accused of dealing methamphetamine after several law-enforcement agencies executed a search warrant at his home.
Danny Benavidez, 55, was detained at the Quay County Detention Center on Wednesday on complaints of trafficking controlled substances (by distribution of sale of narcotic drug, first offense), trafficking methamphetamine (by possession with intent to distribute, first offense) and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.
The two trafficking complaints are second-degree felonies that can lead up to nine years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Benavidez was released Thursday evening after posting bond, according to jail logs.
According to a complaint filed in magistrate court by Quay County sheriff’s deputy Christopher Valdez, officers from the sheriff’s office, Region V Drug Task Force and 10th Judicial District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday evening executed a search warrant issued by Judge Albert Mitchell Jr. for Benavidez’s residence. According to jail logs, Benavidez resides in the 500 block of North Second Street.
“The search warrant was petition on the basis of surveillance by myself and a controlled purchase of methamphetamine utilizing a credible and confidential informant within the last 72 hours,” Valdez wrote in the complaint.
Valdez said officers found 16 baggies of suspected methamphetamine in the home’s bathroom and 23 baggies of suspected meth in a shelf of an apartment behind the residence.
Also found were handwritten items containing information about the trafficking or sale of narcotics, Valdez stated, along with a clear glass pipe with suspected meth residue and a set of digital scales in a shed near the apartment.
“During the search and after being Mirandized, Benavidez began to participate in the search by telling me and other deputies where various items of narcotics and paraphernalia were kept, confirming the items were his,” Valdez wrote.
Benavidez entered a not-guilty plea Thursday on the paraphernalia charge and did not make a plea on the trafficking counts. Public defender Anna Aragon was listed as Benavidez’s lawyer. She could not be reached for comment Monday. Benavidez’s next court hearing is set for March 20.