ALBUQUERQUE — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)), published as received.
ALBUQUERQUE – A Hobbs woman involved in a high-speed chase with law enforcement was sentenced to 19 years in federal prison for drug trafficking and firearms offenses uncovered during an investigation into a significant fentanyl and methamphetamine distribution operation.
According to court records, on October 19, 2023, agents with the Lea County Drug Task Force (LCDTF) received information that a vehicle traveling in Hobbs, New Mexico, contained fentanyl pills and methamphetamine. Agents located the vehicle and conducted a traffic stop. Amber Dawn Rogers Johnson, 39, was identified as the passenger. The vehicle was registered to both Johnson and the driver.
During the traffic stop, agents observed a handgun in the front passenger seat near Johnson. A canine unit alerted to the odor of narcotics, and the vehicle was towed pending a search warrant.
On October 20, 2023, a search warrant was executed, revealing approximately 425 grams of fentanyl pills, 98 net grams of pure methamphetamine and three firearms.
On November 9, 2023, LCDTF agents tracked a vehicle, Johnson’s was a passenger in, to Tatum, New Mexico and attempted a second traffic stop, however the driver fled from officers over the Texas border. Deputies from the Yoakum County Sheriff's Office located the vehicle and began to pursue from Yoakum County into Gaines County where the Gaines County Sheriff's Office joined the pursuit.
During the pursuit, Johnson shot at Yoakum County Sheriff’s Deputies and threw a backpack containing narcotics and firearms from the vehicle before fleeing back over the state border into Hobbs, New Mexico where they were located by LCDTF agents after Johnson and the driver crashed the vehicle and fled on foot. Officers pursued and arrested them a short time later.
Yoakum County Sheriff’s Deputies located the backpack Johnson threw out of the vehicle. Inside the back was 1,129 grams of fentanyl pills and 814 grams of methamphetamine. Deputies also located two firearms nearby.
When LCDTF agents searched the vehicle, they located another 13 grams of methamphetamine, 616.6 grams of liquid fentanyl, multiple loaded rifles, magazines and ammunition, including hollow point bullets. In total, approximately 827 grams of methamphetamine, approximately 1.7 kilograms of fentanyl, and five firearms were seized on November 9, 2023.
On April 7, 2025, Johnson pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and two counts of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
Upon her release from prison, Johnson will be subject to five years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Omar Arellano, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, made the announcement today.
The DEA’s El Paso Division investigated this case with the assistance of the Lea County Drug Task Force, Yoakum County Sheriff's Office and the Gaines County Sheriff's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Williams is prosecuting this case.
