fort dodge man pleads to meth conspiracy
Contact: Peter Deegan
A man who conspired for three years to distribute methamphetamine in Fort Dodge pled guilty November 10, 2010, in federal court in Sioux City.
Jason Ruffridge, 31, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, was convicted of one count of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. Ruffridge was previously convicted on November 20, 2000, in Iowa District Court for Webster County for delivery of a controlled substance.
At the plea hearing, Ruffridge admitted he conspired to distribute more than 11 pounds of methamphetamine from 2006 through 2009 in the Fort Dodge area.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Ruffridge remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Ruffridge faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $4,000,000 fine, a special assessment of $100, and 5 years up to life of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Webster County Sheriff’s Office, and Fort Dodge Police Department.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 10-3045.
