ALBUQUERQUE – Michael Angelo Strubhar, 47, of Las Cruces, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 41 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on methamphetamine trafficking charges. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and Special Agent in Charge Will R. Glaspy of the DEA’s El Paso Division.
Strubhar and his co-defendant Chayanne Armando Nino, 25, also of Las Cruces, were arrested in Jan. 2016, on a criminal complaint charging them with methamphetamine trafficking offenses. According to the criminal complaint, Strubhar and Nino sold methamphetamine to an undercover agent on July 13, 2015.
Strubhar and Nino subsequently were indicted on Feb. 17, 2016, and charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distributing methamphetamine on July 13, 2015, in Doña Ana County. N.M.
On June 1, 2016, Strubhar and Nino each pled guilty to felony informations charging them with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine. Each admitted that on July 13, 2015, Nino distributed methamphetamine to Strubhar who then distributed the methamphetamine to a law enforcement agent who was acting in an undercover capacity. The weight of the methamphetamine distributed was 12.2 grams. Nino was sentenced on Feb. 22, 2017, to 120 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Balla of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
Information from Department of Justice