SOCORRO, N.M. - Two Doña Ana County men were charged with drug trafficking after being pulled over 175 miles north of town, the El Defensor Chieftan newspaper reported Wednesday.

Kevin James Wilson, 19, of Las Cruces, and 22-year-old David A. Pedraza, 22, of the 200 block of Palma Blanca in Chaparral, were charged Nov. 22 with felony ecstasy possession and trafficking, conspiracy and misdemeanor marijuana possession, according to court records.

If convicted, they face up to 14 years in prison and more than $20,000 in fines, the Chieftan reported.

Wilson was pulled over for going 85 in a 75 mph zone of Interstate 25. Deputies reported the car smelled like marijuana, the Chieftan reported. A search of the vehicle allegedly revealed not only a small amount of marijuana, but also a baggie containing 141 brown ecstasy pills - variously stamped with dragonflies and pumas - in the center console.

The teen allegedly admitted to having taken hundreds of pills from Las Cruces to Colorado to sell.

Both were booked into the Socorro County Detention Center under $100,000 surety bonds. Pedraza, who was on probation after an August conviction for felony marijuana trafficking, has since been transported to the Do-a Ana County Detention Center.


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