DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that David Wayne Watkins, 46, of Pueblo, Colorado, was sentenced to 248 months in prison after being convicted by a federal jury last year on five counts, including possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle.According to the facts established at trial, Watkins was stopped by Pueblo Police in December of 2023 for a forged temporary license plate tag. During the stop, Watkins briefly ran from officers before his arrest. During his arrest, police recovered a loaded handgun from his waistband and a bag and wallet together containing $52,000 in cash, 378 fentanyl pills, and 25 grams of pure methamphetamine. When officers searched his car, they found one additional handgun, numerous firearm magazines and ammunition, clear baggies, and a bag with an additional 375 fentanyl pills.
A search of his hotel room resulted in the recovery of a short-barreled rifle and additional ammunition.“We are committed to making Pueblo safer, and putting Mr. Watkins behind bars for the next 20 years advances that goal,” said United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Peter McNeilly. “I am grateful to both our federal and local partners for the excellent work they did to get him and his illegal guns and drugs off the streets.”“Any community is safer when we can take illegal drugs and guns off the streets,” said Marvin Massey, Acting Special Agent in Charge for FBI Denver. “In this case, the strong FBI partnership with the Pueblo Police Department resulted in a repeat offender heading to prison and the community being in a better situation as a result.”“I want to commend the hard work and collaboration of our task force officers, special investigations detectives, and federal partners including ATF, DEA, FBI, and the U.S.
Attorney’s Office,” said Chris Noeller, Chief of Police, Pueblo Police Department. “Their commitment to this lengthy investigation shows what can be achieved when law enforcement agencies work together to bring a dangerous offender to justice. We remain committed to working with our local, state, and federal partners to hold offenders accountable and to ensure our community remains a safe place to live, work, and raise a family.”United States District Judge S. Kato Crews presided over the sentencing.
The Pueblo Police Department and the FBI Denver Field Office handled the investigation. The Violent Crime and Immigration Enforcement Section of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado handled the prosecution.This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.Case Number: 1:24-cr-00058-SKC