Bakersfield Man Sentenced To 9 Years in Prison for Possessing Methamphetamine for Distribution

FRESNO, Calif. — Jesus Manuel Peraza Ruiz, 56, of Bakersfield, was sentenced Monday by United States District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill to nine years in prison for possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, a vehicle driven by Peraza Ruiz was stopped in Kern County, and a narcotics detection K-9 alerted to six packages of methamphetamine inside a hidden compartment. The methamphetamine weighed 5.8 pounds and the Drug Enforcement Administration laboratory determined it was 98.8 percent pure.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Bakersfield Police Department, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, and the Kern County Probation Department. Assistant United States Attorney Laurel J. Montoya prosecuted the case.

Peraza Ruiz’s co-defendants were previously sentenced by Judge O’Neill: Baltazar Garcia was sentenced to 10 years in prison, Adam Vega was sentenced to eight years in prison, and Robert Canchola was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison.