Man Faces Federal Charges After Bringing 10-Year-Old Son to Drug Deal

Albuquerque –

An Albuquerque man has been charged with federal drug trafficking and firearms offenses after allegedly supplying nearly five pounds of methamphetamine to undercover officers and later being found in possession of fentanyl, firearms, and ammunition.

According to court documents, on March 26, 2026, Lucas Maldonado, 44, allegedly supplied almost five pounds of methamphetamine to undercover officers from the Albuquerque Police Department. The transaction took place in a parking lot of a business in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Maldonado arrived in a pickup truck accompanied by his 10-year-old son.

During the transaction, an intermediary retrieved a backpack containing methamphetamine from Maldonado’s vehicle and delivered it to an undercover officer in exchange for $7,000. After the exchange, the Albuquerque Police Department conducted a traffic stop, taking him into custody without incident.

Initially, Maldonado was booked into MDC under state charges of drug dealing and distribution.

The following day, investigators executed a search warrant on Maldonado’s vehicle and allegedly recovered fentanyl and methamphetamine, multiple firearms, drug paraphernalia, and approximately $11,000 in U.S. currency, including the controlled purchase money. As a previously convicted felon, Maldonado is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition. This elevated the case to a federal level.

Maldonado is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. Maldonado will remain in custody pending trial, which has not yet been scheduled. If convicted of the current charges, he faces up to life in prison.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Albuquerque Police Department’s Central Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nora Wilson is prosecuting the case.

Maldonado has a lengthy violent state criminal record dating back to 2003. He did serve time in the New Mexico Corrections system around 2005 and 2007 for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, burglary, false imprisonment, and damage to criminal damage to property.