11 Charged in Twin Cities Drug Trafficking, Kidnapping Conspiracy

MINNEAPOLIS – A federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment against 11 individuals associated with a transnational Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) tied to a Mexican cartel in a drug trafficking and kidnapping conspiracy, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick. 

As alleged in the indictment, beginning in July 2023 through January 2025, 11 defendants conspired to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it. The DTO leaders arranged for large quantities of methamphetamine to be delivered from Mexico to the Twin Cities area, via the mail and driven by cars and trucks. Once delivered, the Minnesota-based defendants broke large quantities of methamphetamine down into smaller, distributable quantities and sold it to customers throughout the Twin Cities region.  In January 2025, an individual owed a DTO leader in Mexico a substantial amount of money, which they could not pay. Four of the co-defendants lured this individual to a location in St. Paul, Minnesota. They kidnaped the victim, beat the victim, chained the victim to a pole, and the held the victim against their will.  During the kidnaping and beating, a DTO leader instructed one of the defendants over a messaging application, “you are breaking his hands. Break them good.” 

“This case highlights the inherent danger that transnational drug cartels bring to our country,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick. “This mob-style violence has no place in America, it has no place in Minnesota, and those who engage in it will be charged federally.”  

The following individuals have been indicted for the following crimes and have made their initial appearance in federal court:
•    Richar Sanchez Mujica, 30, is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, conspiracy to kidnap, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. 
•    Donovan Rey Lopez, 21, of Minneapolis is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. 
•    Erling Soren Holdahl, 48, is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to kidnap. 
•    Dostin Elizander Ortiz-Garcia, 29, of Burnsville, Minnesota, is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
•    Jonathan Salvador Juarez-Ferrer, 25, of Minneapolis, is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
•    Timothy Duane Ripley, 45, is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to kidnap.
•    Kendra Sue Johnson, 39, is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to kidnap.

Four other members of the conspiracy have not yet made their initial appearances.

This case is the result of cooperation between Homeland Security Investigations, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the St. Paul Police Department’s Violent Crime Enforcement Team, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Minneapolis Police Department, Ramsey County, and the Central Minnesota Violent Offender Task Force.  It is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and to 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). 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. McBride is prosecuting the case. 

An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.