Colorado felon imprisoned for having 17 guns, dealing drugs

A 27-year-old Colorado man who pleaded guilty to a felony drug offense eight years ago -- and was thereby not permitted by state law to own a firearm -- was recently sentenced for owning 17 guns and trafficking narcotics from his home.  

Mario Rocha, of Rocky Ford, was ordered to serve 20 years in federal prison on Friday. 

Agents from the FBI, along with local officers from the Rocky Ford Police Department, searched Rocha's residence on Maple Avenue in August 2025, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release. Inside, they found 1,169.3 grams of cocaine, 4,742.3 grams of fentanyl (approximately 45,000 individual pills) and 1,236 grams of methamphetamine, per the DOJ. 

In addition, the agents and officers recovered 17 firearms, including a short-barreled shotgun and a short-barreled rifle, and a large amount of cash. 

Rocha shared the residence with his 7-year-old daughter, per DOJ. 

In January, Rocha pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing controlled substances with the intent to distribute them, one count of knowingly being a felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition, one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle, and possession of an unregistered short-barreled shotgun.

The Denver federal court judge overseeing Rocha's case also added five years of supervised probation which Rocha will begin when he finishes his prison sentence. 

Rocha was sentenced 2018 to probation, community service and fines for two drug counts in Otero County. He also pleaded guilty to the charges in that case.