El Paso man sentenced to 10 years in prison for trafficking meth

A 53-year-old El Paso man was sentenced Wednesday morning in a Las Cruces federal court to 10 years in federal prison for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction.

In addition to prison time, Melchor Arroyos also was sentenced to five years of supervised release after he serves his prison term.

Arroyos, co-defendant Ernest Joe Marquez, 45, of Las Cruces, and nine others were arrested in May 2012, and charged with participating in a meth trafficking conspiracy from Jan. 2012 through May 2012.

According to a superseding indictment filed in Oct. 2012, members of the conspiracy transported meth from El Paso, Texas, and Phoenix, Ariz. to Doa Ana County, N.M., where the methamphetamine was distributed to local drug dealers.

Arroyos and Marquez were found guilty by a federal jury on July 31, 2013, after a three-day trial.