SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WENY) -- Two people arrested in Cortland County on drug charges are now facing federal murder charges.

Kyle Leeper, 36, of Palmyra, Pa., and Arlene Rodriguez, 36, of Montebello, Calif., were arrested in January 2019 by the Cortland County Sheriff's Office, after a traffic stop revealed four pounds of meth and a loaded handgun in their vehicle.

This weekend, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York announced a new indictment that includes more charges against them, along with Ramon Nieves Cotto, 28, of Madison County.

They're charged in connection with the killing of Robert Chavez.

Leeper allegedly shot Chavez repeatedly, according to the indictment. Cotto is accused of purchasing zip ties that were used to bind Chavez to make it easier to kill him.

If convicted of committing murder during a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, Leeper and Cotto face a minimum sentence of 20 years, and a maximum sentence of up to life imprisonment, or a sentence of death.

Cotto was arrested and arraigned Friday in Syracuse and was ordered detained pending a bail hearing. Leeper and Rodriguez have been detained in federal custody since August 2019, when they were charged in the earlier federal indictment that alleged drug and firearms charges only.