Roswell Man Sentenced to 40 Years for Federal Carjacking and Firearm Conviction

U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Mexico
November 17, 2011

LAS CRUCES—U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales announced that earlier today, Tommy Peña, 26, of Roswell, N.M., was sentenced to a total of 40 years imprisonment for his conviction on eight federal offenses stemming from a carjacking and drive-by shooting in Roswell in April 2010. The offenses that Pena was convicted on included conspiracy, carjacking, using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.

The evidence at trial established that, on April 6, 2010, Peña and co-defendant Jeremy Ray Conde forcibly entered a residence in Roswell, pointed firearms at two adults and their child inside the residence, and then Peña took the keys to the victims’ Cadillac Eldorado before driving away in the vehicle. The evidence also established that on April 10, 2010, Peña was involved in a drive-by shooting in Roswell, firing several shots with a 9 mm handgun.

Peña was arrested on a criminal complaint on May 5, 2010, and has been in custody since that date. Conde, who also was arrested on May 5, 2010, pled guilty to the charges on October 28, 2010, and remains in custody pending sentencing.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Roswell Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Roswell Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathan Lichvarcik and Luis A. Martinez.