LAS CRUCES – A man running for mayor of Las Cruces was charged with a felony after police said he sold cannabis products to undercover agents in August.
Jason Estrada, 37, was charged with conspiracy to commit a violation of cannabis trafficking regulation, a fourth-degree felony. He appeared before a judge for the first time on Friday.
Estrada announced his run for mayor on Sept. 15, shortly before the charges were filed on Sept. 24. He owns Everything Las Cruces, a company which markets local businesses and promotes the city, and manages Speak Easy, a local shop that sells CBD products and cannabis-themed merchandise.
According to an affidavit, agents with the Doña Ana County Metro Narcotics unit went undercover into Speak Easy in August. The undercover agents said they purchased cannabis products in the form of marijuana cigarettes, wax and a bag of cannabis bud.
The agents said they bought the cannabis directly from Estrada. Currently, storefronts are not allowed to sell cannabis. While cannabis use was legalized by the New Mexico Legislature and governor, selling it is not legal yet. The state has until April 2022 to set up the parameters of a cannabis selling market.
Estrada told the Sun-News that he was not guilty of doing anything wrong. He has not yet had the opportunity to enter a formal plea in the Doña Ana County Magistrate court. He could face up to 18 months in prison if convicted.
Cease and desist
Friday’s hearing was not Estrada’s first time in legal trouble with cannabis.
Over the summer, Estrada received first the attention of media organizations, then the attention of the state government.
The store, called Speak Easy, held its official grand opening on July 17, according to its Facebook page.
Estrada advertised on Facebook that customers could walk in, buy a T-shirt and be gifted cannabis.
“We knew that there was going to be a little bit of pushback for things that people don’t understand and for things that are brand new,” Estrada said.
Marijuana news: Meet a cannabis sommelier: ‘Ganjiers’ offer high-class weed expertise
But regulatory agencies saw this as a problem. Ten days after Speak Easy’s grand opening, New Mexico’s Cannabis Control Division ordered Estrada to cease operations.
“The Cannabis Control Division will not tolerate any individuals or businesses who violate the Cannabis Regulation Act or otherwise diminish the integrity of the adult-use cannabis industry in New Mexico,” Regulation and Licensing Department Deputy Superintendent John Blair stated in a news release in July.
“All New Mexicans should be on notice that violations of the Cannabis Regulation Act will be met with swift, strong action from the state.”
Matt Madrid, Estrada attorney, said in a news release at the time that Speak Easy would comply with the order.
“The practice commonly referred to as ‘gifting’ will not occur on our premises, however, we are still able to assist the community with CBD products and merchandise,” Madrid wrote in a news release.
But DASO agents said this did not occur.
According to the affidavit, the two undercover agents bought cannabis products from Estrada in August. The agents said they bought the cannabis products from Estrada directly and didn’t have to buy a T-shirt.
Estrada: ‘I am gonna fight it’
After his first appearance in court on Friday, Estrada was defiant in his opposition to the charges and professed his innocence.
“I didn’t do this and so I’m gonna fight it,” Estrada told the Sun-News. “My family and business colleagues and my attorneys and everybody behind me said, we’re here to fight this with you.”
Madrid, Estrada’s attorney, issued a news release shortly after the hearing that declared his client’s innocence and suggested that the City of Las Cruces was targeting his client.
“Make no mistake, this is not the cannabis control division coming after Mr. Estrada, this is a prosecution initiated by our local city government and law enforcement,” Madrid said in a news release.
He added that the city was seeking to revoke Estrada’s business license for Speak Easy before the criminal charges were filed.
“It’s interesting that the alleged activity in the criminal complaint were widely publicized in July but the actions taken by the City of Las Cruces, administratively and criminally, were not initiated until Mr. Estrada announced his candidacy,” Madrid said.
The City of Las Cruces Community Development office, which oversees business licenses, could not be reached for comment on Friday.
Estrada said the charges came as a shock, then a worry, when he first learned of them.
“It’s shock, it’s worry, it’s fear of the unknown of what’s going to happen,” Estrada said. “But then there was also a sense of anger on why this could be happening and what’s about to happen.”
Estrada said he believes the criminal charges are not in good faith. He didn’t attribute the targeting to a specific person in city government but said that it reinforces his view that Las Cruces needs new leadership.
“That’s why I announced early that I was running for mayor. And then these things started to happen right after that,” he said.
Estrada was not arrested during the judicial process and was released on his own recognizance Friday morning. He’s scheduled for a preliminary hearing in January.
“We’re going to continue to fight and we’re going to push this all the way,” he said.
Justin Garcia is a public safety reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can be reached at JEGarcia@lcsun-news.com or on Twitter @Just516garc.
Other’s are reading
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Mayoral candidate charged with a cannabis-related felony, accuses city of targeting him
About C.E. News
