A 32-year-old Las Cruces woman has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for trafficking fentanyl while armed with a stolen handgun, after a chase with sheriff's deputies that ended with her running from her car near Telshor Boulevard and Terrace Drive. Cassidy Shae Montoya was found with 356 fentanyl pills, a loaded stolen gun, and $373 in cash once deputies caught up with her.
According to court documents cited by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico, Doña Ana County Sheriff's Office deputies tried to stop Montoya on July 30, 2025, but she drove away instead. Per the U.S. Attorney's Office, she then sped toward Las Cruces at speeds between 90 and 110 miles per hour, passing near Vado before the pursuit reached the Telshor Boulevard and Terrace Drive area, where she hit a curb. Montoya ran from the vehicle on foot before deputies apprehended her.
Deputies who searched the car found a loaded handgun on the driver's side that had been reported stolen back in March 2025, the office's account states. Alongside the weapon, they recovered the fentanyl pills and cash. Montoya told investigators she intended to distribute the fentanyl and said she was carrying the gun to protect herself, according to the same account.
A Felony Conviction Complicated Her Gun Possession
Montoya had a prior felony conviction and knew she was not allowed to possess a firearm, the U.S. Attorney's Office reported. That combination of illegal gun possession and drug trafficking formed the basis of the federal charges that led to her eight-year sentence. Because she was sentenced in the federal system, which does not offer parole, Montoya is expected to serve her full term.
The case was announced under the title KVIA used in its own report on the sentencing, which credited the U.S. Attorney's Office for the underlying details of the chase, the gun, and the drugs. The District of New Mexico U.S. Attorney's Office has not released additional information beyond what has been reported about the sentencing date or court.
Fentanyl's Toll Across New Mexico
The case adds to a grim statistical backdrop in the state. New Mexico's age-adjusted drug-overdose death rate stood at 37.1 per 100,000 people, with 775 deaths recorded, according to figures published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The reporting period for those numbers was not specified in the available data, but the scale underscores why cases involving hundreds of fentanyl pills draw significant federal attention in the region.
