Joliet, Illinois Man Sentenced to 51 Months in Prison

HAMMOND- Rigoberto Ortiz-Dominguez, 33, of Joliet, Illinois, was sentenced before District Court Judge Philip P. Simon on his plea to possession with intent to distribute heroin, announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch.

Ortiz Dominguez received a sentence of 51 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release. 

According to documents filed in this case, DEA agents used a confidential source to negotiate with Michael Cruz, Ortiz-Dominguez’s co-defendant, for the purchase of kilograms of heroin on November 16, 2017. Cruz informed the confidential source that a courier would deliver the heroin later that same day. The courier was Ortiz-Dominguez. Hammond Police stopped Ortiz-Dominguez on his way to deliver the heroin. During a search of Ortiz-Dominguez’s car, police found 3.06 kilograms of heroin in a hidden compartment. Co-defendant Michael Cruz entered a guilty plea to the same charge on July 27, 2018. 

This case was investigated by the Lake County HIDTA (DEA) with the assistance of the Hammond Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas M. McGrath.

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