Timothy T. Duax U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa
A California man has been sentenced to over 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 one count of conspiracy to distribute at least 500 grams of a mixture containing methamphetamine and 50 grams or more of pure methamphetamine.
According to evidence presented during sentencing, Ruiz distributed approximately 200 pounds of methamphetamine and two kilograms of cocaine to members of a drug-trafficking group operating in Dubuque. In December 2021, law enforcement stopped Ruiz while he was driving from California to Iowa through Colorado. Officers searched his vehicle and discovered 25 pounds of ice methamphetamine hidden under cutout doors in the car’s metal floor.
Ruiz was sentenced by Chief Judge C.J. Williams in Cedar Rapids to 188 months in prison. After completing his sentence, he will serve five years on supervised release. Federal sentences do not allow for parole.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline), an initiative led by the Department of Justice that focuses on fighting illegal immigration, eliminating cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protecting communities from violent crime. The operation brings together resources from programs such as the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
Ruiz remains in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending transfer to a federal prison.
The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake. Agencies involved in the investigation included the 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 the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Criminalistics Laboratory.
