Cop's wife indicted on federal charges

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - It was a shopping spree that could cost Elizabeth Taylor her freedom for decades.

Taylor, wife of APD officer David Taylor, is facing four federal charges for making false statements when buying a gun . The charges could net her up to 40 years in prison. She was brought into federal custody Friday and is expected to stay there until at least Dec. 26th.

According to a federal indictment, Taylor bought two Glock pistols from Sportsman's Warehouse in Albuquerque on August 6th and then two more handguns on August 17th from Shooters Den in Albuquerque.

She claimed the guns were for her, but investigators say they were for convicted drug dealer Christopher Blattner , 32.

Five days after the feds say Taylor bought her last two handguns, Blattner was due in court for an arraignment on a murder charge for allegedly killing another drug dealer. Instead he was holed up in his house as part of a 9-hour SWAT standoff. During that standoff he shot a handgun at officers.

Three days after Blattner was brought into police custody , Taylor was arrested after at least one of Blattner's guns was traced back to her.

She originally faced state charges, although those have been dropped. Bernalillo County DA spokesperson Kayla Anderson says the DA's office is still reviewing those charges.

Taylor's APD officer husband was originally placed on desk duty to determine what Officer Taylor knew or did not know about his wife's activities. APD Officer Robert Gibbs said Friday that Officer Taylor has been totally cleared and is now back to his regular job.

It's unclear why Blattner and Taylor would have been connected.

According to court records, Taylor had meth on her when she was arrested in September and Blattner is a convicted meth dealer.

Blattner was never supposed to be out of prison in the first place. A New Mexico Department of Corrections mistake led to his early release from state prison in February. He had three more years left on his sentence.