New Mexico man sentenced after large meth seizure in Cherry County

VALENTINE, Neb. - An Alamogordo, New Mexico man has been sentenced to 14 to 24 years in the Nebraska State Penitentiary after authorities found six pounds, or three kilograms, of methamphetamine inside his vehicle along Highway 20 in Cherry County. David Lopez, 35 years old, pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, a Class II felony. Another charge, no drug tax stamp, was dropped.

According to court documents, a deputy sheriff saw a vehicle pulled over on the shoulder of the highway. When he made contact with Lopez, the only person in the vehicle, the deputy said he smelled a strong odor of raw marijuana. After searching the vehicle, court documents say the deputy found three ziplock bags, each containing approximately 2.2 pounds of a white crystal substance that tested positive for meth. In addition to the drug, the deputy said he found two glass pipes used to smoke meth, two pipes used to smoke marijuana, a black container labeled THC that contained a green leafy substance, and a syringe with a yellowish-brown substance that tested positive for THC.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, three kilos of meth could provide thousands of individual doses, with a street value of tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.