Hawkeye Reporter

A California man has been sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison for distributing large quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine in the Dubuque, Iowa area.

Juan Jose Ruiz, 29, from Visalia, California, pleaded guilty on April 24, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute at least 500 grams of a substance containing methamphetamine and at least 50 grams of pure methamphetamine. Evidence presented during sentencing showed that in 2021, Ruiz was responsible for distributing about 200 pounds of methamphetamine and 2,000 grams of cocaine to members of a drug-trafficking organization based in Dubuque.

In December 2021, law enforcement stopped Ruiz while he was driving from California to Iowa through Colorado. Officers searched his car and found 25 pounds of ice methamphetamine hidden under cutout doors in the metal floor.

Ruiz received his sentence from United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams in Cedar Rapids. He was sentenced to 188 months in prison and must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after completing his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

"This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN)."

Ruiz is currently being held by the United States Marshal’s Service until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake. The investigation involved several agencies: Dubuque Drug Task Force, Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office, Dubuque Police Department, Quad City Metropolitan Enforcement Group, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Postal Inspection Service, and Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Criminalistics Laboratory.