Steve Garrison, 5:17 p.m. MST November 4, 2015


(Photo: Courtesy of San Juan County Adult Detention Center)

AZTEC – Daniel Prieto-Lozoyo was sentenced Wednesday to time served after being convicted at trial in October of identity theft.

Prieto-Lozoyo, 33, served more than 15 months in prison awaiting the outcome in two criminal cases: the identity theft case filed in June 2014 and a methamphetamine trafficking case filed in October 2013.

The trafficking case fell apart in April after a district court judge ruled that Region II Narcotics Taskforce agents unlawfully seized the key evidence in the case – 2.8 pounds of methamphetamine – from a business in Bloomfield on Oct. 3, 2013.

The methamphetamine was valued at approximately $100,000 to $150,000, according to former task force director Phil Goodwin.

Prieto-Lozoyo was released from jail on July 8 pending an appeal in the trafficking case, but the identity theft case remained active, and trial was set for Oct. 21.

In that case, Prieto-Lozoyo was accused of using an El Paso man’s name and Social Security number to obtain employment with a Farmington air conditioner company, according to court records.

Prieto-Lozoyo denied using the man’s identity, but a manager at the company told detectives Prieto-Lozoyo worked at the company for about three months using the false identity.

He was convicted of identity theft, a fourth-degree felony, on Oct. 22 after a two-day trial, court records state.

Prieto-Lozoyo told Judge John Dean at Wednesday’s sentencing hearing that he missed his family and asked that Dean let him go home.

Dean agreed that 15 months in jail was a fair sentence for a fourth-degree felony, which is punishable by up to 18 months of jail time.

However, Prieto-Lozoyo soon may face action in federal court, according to San Juan County Chief Deputy District Attorney Dustin O’Brien.

O’Brien said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has requested that Prieto-Lozoyo be detained while agents review his immigration status.

“I figure if he isn’t already in federal custody, he will be very shortly,” O’Brien said.

http://www.daily-times.com/story/new...raud/75153724/