Rio Rancho woman federally charged for 2 DWI arrests
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A Rio Rancho woman faces federal charges after authorities say they twice found her in possession of firearms while driving drunk.
Courtney Sparks, 39, faces charges of illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition while using controlled substances. Sparks appeared in court last Tuesday. She will go to a halfway house until her trial. The judge hasn’t set a trial date yet.
Court documents indicate on March 15 that Albuquerque police arrested Sparks for allegedly crashing her vehicle into a fire truck while intoxicated. They arrested her for DWI and found the following while searching her vehicle:
- A loaded Colt .38 caliber special revolver in the cup holder of the center console
- Three open bottles of alcohol
- A narcotics pipe on Sparks’ person
In May, Rio Rancho police told the FBI that Sparks allegedly wanted to create a Molotov cocktail and use it to blow up the trailer of someone who owed her money. The criminal complaint indicates she had just rented a truck to do that when she was arrested in March.
A few days later, police learned that Sparks was allegedly trying to collect gunpowder from fireworks to build a bomb. They also learned she was allegedly a long-time drug user, including at the time of her arrest.
In late-May, New Mexico State Police arrested Sparks in Rio Arriba County for allegedly driving while intoxicated. Again, they searched her vehicle and allegedly found the following:
- One box of .38 special ammunition
- One box of 12-gauge shotgun shells
- Two hatchets
- One throwing knife
- One machete
- Three pocketknives
- Two glass pipes
- Various items related to marijuana use
Sparks faces federal charges of drug user in possession of a firearm for the March arrest and drug user in possession of ammunition for the May arrest. She faces up to 15 years in prison for each charge.
The FBI investigated the case with assistance from Albuquerque and Rio Rancho police officers and New Mexico State Police. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Gardner is prosecuting the case, thanks to an agreement with the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.