Farmington man faces federal gun charge after undercover sale, prosecutors say

A Farmington man is facing a federal gun charge after prosecutors say he sold several firearms and boxes of ammunition to an undercover officer in Kirtland, a case that put local weapons trafficking squarely in federal court.

Pete Kimbell, 41, was charged after the undercover contact began on Sept. 14, 2025, when prosecutors say he used coded language while discussing firearms for sale with an officer working with the New Mexico Region II Narcotics Task Force. The next day, the officer met Kimbell at a residence in Kirtland, where surveillance units monitored the transaction and the undercover officer wore a covert recording device.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico, the officer bought several firearms and multiple boxes of ammunition for about $2,100. Prosecutors say Kimbell is a previously convicted felon, which makes it illegal under federal law for him to possess firearms or ammunition. He faces a charge of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, a crime that carries up to 15 years in prison if he is convicted.

The case was announced April 27, 2026, and Kimbell was scheduled for a detention hearing April 29 in federal court. The way investigators say the sale was documented, through surveillance and a recording device, gives prosecutors a direct evidentiary trail that is often harder to build in street-level gun cases.

The investigation was handled by the FBI’s Violent Gang Task Force with help from the Farmington Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service, the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, the Rio Rancho Police Department and the Albuquerque Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Elena Stiteler is prosecuting the case.

The Region II Narcotics Task Force, which includes local and regional agencies, was created to reduce narcotics use, sales and trafficking in San Juan County. Its involvement shows how a firearms case can move quickly from a local contact to a broader federal enforcement effort when officers believe guns and ammunition are being moved by a prohibited person. In a county where police, sheriffs and federal agents regularly work the same corridors and neighborhoods, the case is a reminder that a sale in Kirtland can become a federal public-safety investigation in a matter of days.