Albuquerque man pleads guilty after pointing gun at federal officers

A traffic stop for an invalid registration in Albuquerque escalated into a federal gun-and-drug case after Jason Paul Baca pleaded guilty to assaulting federal officers and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office deputies stopped the vehicle on Nov. 12, 2025, after spotting the registration problem and finding that the driver’s license had been revoked. Deputies also learned that Baca had an outstanding felony warrant. During the arrest attempt, prosecutors say Baca, 36, was armed with a concealed handgun, ran from deputies and pointed a loaded pistol at two federally deputized U.S. Marshals Service task force officers working Operation Triple Beam.

Deputies fired during the encounter, striking Baca. He was taken into custody and later received medical treatment. Investigators recovered the loaded pistol at the scene, and a search of the vehicle turned up a backpack containing fentanyl pills and about 25.65 grams of fentanyl powder.

The guilty plea carries consequences well beyond the stop itself. Federal prosecutors said Baca’s prior convictions for drug trafficking, burglary and possession of a controlled substance made him prohibited from owning a gun or ammunition. He now faces a minimum of seven years in prison and could receive life at sentencing, with the final punishment still pending.

The case also shows why the involvement of federal task force officers matters in Bernalillo County. Two federally deputized officers were on scene as part of Operation Triple Beam, a fugitive and gun-reduction strategy used repeatedly in Albuquerque and across New Mexico. A 2019 Triple Beam operation in Albuquerque ended with 327 felony arrests, and a later New Mexico sweep produced 920 arrests, underscoring how local stops can quickly become larger federal enforcement actions when fugitives, firearms and narcotics are in the same vehicle.

For Bernalillo County deputies and federal partners, the encounter became a high-risk arrest in real time: a routine registration stop, an outstanding warrant, a concealed weapon, then gunfire. For prosecutors, the plea locks in a case built around both the danger to officers and the drugs recovered from the car, reflecting the broader gun-and-fentanyl enforcement priorities that continue to shape cases in Albuquerque.