LAS CRUCES - At first, officers just thought he had a lead foot. In reality, Abraham Andres Rios' shoes were weighted with heroin - $1,200 worth of it.

Now, Rios, 33, will spend a minimum of 10 years, and possibly life, in prison after pleading guilty Wednesday morning to a narcotics-trafficking conspiracy before U.S. Magistrate Don J. Svet.

Under the plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Rios pleaded guilty to the first count of a two-count indictment, charging him with conspiring to possess more than one kilogram of heroin with the intent to distribute it.

Rios has been in federal custody since his arrest Oct. 21, 2009, after a short chase by a Las Cruces/Do-a Ana County Metro Narcotics Task Force officer, who was attempting to pull his Chevy Trailblazer over for speeding, according to a criminal complaint. Rios identified himself as "Gudberto Chavez" and "acknowledged that he was in a hurry because he had to urinate," according to an affidavit filed by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The officer told him he was free to urinate off the shoulder of the road, but when Rios walked away from the roadway, he couldn't do so.

After citing Rios for speeding and driving without a license, the agent asked about his travel and heard conflicting accounts from passenger Christopher Lee Ramirez. Both men gave consent to search their vehicle, and officers noted that Ramirez's shoes "appeared abnormal in that they looked extra thick" and "very heavy."

When

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asked what was inside his shoes, Ramirez put his head down and admitted, "chiva," a slang term for heroin, which he said they had received in a hand-off in El Paso the day before. Cutting open the sole of Ramirez's shoes, and another pair Rios had ditched in the car, officers discovered more than 3,427 grams of brown powdered heroin.

Rios admitted that he and Ramirez each expected to be paid $1,200 for delivering the heroin to Albuquerque and initially agreed to lead law enforcement to their intended delivery point; both decided they were too afraid to ultimately do so, according to the affidavit, and were arrested.

The case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen R. Kotz, was investigated by Metro, the sheriff's office and the DEA.

Sentencing has yet to be scheduled, according to U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales.

Ashley Meeks can be reached at (575) 541-5462