Santa Rosa man pleads guilty to trafficking methamphetamine and fentanyl

            ALBUQUERQUE – Paul James Jaramillo, III, 31, of Santa Rosa, New Mexico, pleaded guilty in federal court on Jan. 27 to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl.

            A federal grand jury indicted Jaramillo on May 12, 2021, on one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. 

            In the plea agreement, Jaramillo admitted that on March 11, 2021, while a resident at Diersen Charities Residential Reentry Center in Albuquerque, he accessed his “stash” of methamphetamine and fentanyl, which had been hidden in a bathroom stall.  He admitted that the drugs in his possession were not meant for his own personal use and that he intended to deliver or transfer them to another person.

             Jaramillo remains in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled. The maximum penalty for each count is up to 20 years in prison.

            The FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback is prosecuting the case.