Five Men Sentenced to Federal Prison for Distributing Methamphetamine Throughout the Treasure Valley

BOISE – Jose Reynaldo Cardenas, Jr., 29, of Porterville, California; Angelo Angel Rivas, 41, of Nampa, Idaho; Lance Ryan Ward, 44, of Boise, Idaho; Joshua James Alford, 34, of Garden Valley, Idaho; and Rodolfo Hernandez Gonzalez, 33, of Nampa, Idaho, were all sentenced to federal prison today for their role in a large scale methamphetamine trafficking ring, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.  Rivas, Ward, Alford and Gonzalez were sentenced by visiting Senior U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb from the Eastern District of California, sitting by special designation.  The sentencings in four of these cases were delayed until a visiting judge could travel to the District of Idaho.  Cardenas was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge.

Cardenas pleaded guilty on September 13, 2016, to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, and two counts of distributing methamphetamine.  Cardenas admitted to distributing 221.5 grams of pure methamphetamine to an undercover officer in Caldwell, Idaho on November 23 and again on December 21, 2015.  Cardenas was arrested on February 23, 2016, and was found to be in possession of a loaded firearm.  Cardenas advised law enforcement that he was part of a large scale drug trafficking organization which was responsible for the transportation of twenty to thirty pounds of methamphetamine every three days for the past two years.  Judge Lodge sentenced him to serve 12 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release.  He was also ordered to forfeit $100,000 in cash proceeds.  Cardenas had previously been convicted of possession of cocaine and unlawful possession of an AK-47 assault rifle.

Rivas pleaded guilty on August 31, 2016, to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and heroin.  Rivas was arrested in Boise after he traveled to Mexico to pick up a shipment of methamphetamine and heroin.  Law enforcement found one and a half pounds of methamphetamine and one pound of heroin hidden in the gas tank of his vehicle.  Judge Shubb sentenced Rivas to serve ten years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release.  He was also ordered to forfeit $15,000 in cash proceeds. Rivas had previously been convicted of felony aggravated assault in 1999 after shooting an individual for failure to pay a debt.  He had also been convicted of carrying a concealed weapon on two occasions, battery, domestic battery, and possession of a controlled substance.

Ward and Alford pleaded guilty to distributing methamphetamine.  Both admitted to purchasing a pound of methamphetamine from a co-conspirator and then selling half of that pound to an undercover officer.  Ward was sentenced to serve 11 years in prison.  Alford was sentenced to serve ten years in prison.   Both were sentenced to five years of supervised release.  They were also ordered to forfeit $100,000 in cash proceeds.  Ward had previously been convicted of felony controlled substance offenses in 2005, July of 2015, and October of 2015.  Alford had previously been convicted of felony possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute in January of 2005, possession of a controlled substance in August of 2005, and felony domestic battery in 2007.

Gonzalez pleaded guilty to distributing methamphetamine on August 30, 2016.  He admitted to selling two ounces of methamphetamine to an undercover detective in Nampa, Idaho.  Gonzalez was sentenced to serve five years in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release.  He was also ordered to forfeit $1,200 in cash proceeds.

These cases are the result of a joint investigation by the Boise Police Department Narcotics Unit and the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  The Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), includes the cooperative law enforcement efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; and U.S. Marshals Service.  The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.