BUSTED!
Drugs found on local woman after all

By Leslie Wood
Staff writer

GALLUP — Renee Diaz was arrested on felony drug charges hours after she proclaimed her innocence in a Gallup Independent article.

Agents for the Middle Rio Grande Valley Taskforce pulled 7.5 grams of cocaine from Diaz’s purse moments after she was taken into custody for an arrest warrant on multiple drug charges, including conspiracy to transport illegal drugs into the local jail.

The substance was confirmed as cocaine during a field test.

Officers apprehended Diaz while she was purchasing gasoline at the Giant gas station along U.S. Highway 491 at about 1 p.m. She surrendered without incident and was served with a copy of the warrant, Lt. George Justice said.

Justice’s police K-9 also walked the perimeter of her older model Ford and indicated illegal drugs could be inside. Officers subsequently began to seek a search warrant for the vehicle.

Meanwhile, Diaz expressed little emotion as she sat in the back of a police unit and waited for agents to complete the search of her belongings. The air of silence was a far cry from Diaz’s demeanor earlier this week when she expressed outrage at the taskforce’s claim she was involved in illegal activity.

According to the search warrant, narcotics agents obtained enough evidence to substantiate Diaz’s arrest by listening to recorded jailhouse conversations between her and her husband, accused drug dealer Dexter Diaz.

Dexter Diaz is in custody at the McKinley County Detention Center on drug charges. The pair allegedly conversed about drug-related matters, despite a prerecorded warning that tells prisoners their phone calls are monitored.

Authorities assert Renee Diaz conspired to help her imprisoned husband obtain drugs while in custody. The couple’s acquaintance, Thomas Salazar, was reportedly solicited to intentionally be arrested, so he could sneak illegal drugs to Dexter Diaz in jail.

According to the warrant, Salazar complied with the scheme and shoplifted at a local convenience store, so he would be taken into custody. He allegedly transported marijuana past jail security by hiding a bundle in his rectum.

The drugs were later discovered inside Salazar’s jail cell and he was eventually interviewed by narcotics agents about the alleged conspiracy.

“After listening to several hours of phone recordings, there was a lot of information that Dexter and Renee have talked about conspiring to try to bring in some marijuana to the jail,” the warrant reads.

An agent said Renee Diaz could face up to 15 years in prison, if convicted of the array of felony charges.