California Man Sentenced to Life in Federal Prison for Drug Charges

DES MOINES, Iowa – A Tulare, California man was sentenced on December 2, 2025, to life in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

According to public court documents and evidence presented at trial, Brian Joaquin Alvarado, 40, was the leader of an extensive drug trafficking organization that sold large amounts of methamphetamine in the Des Moines area and transported firearms to California. Alvarado, who was serving a prison sentence in California, organized and coordinated shipments of methamphetamine and firearms with the assistance of at least five co-defendants, including his then 18-year-old son. In July 2025, following a two-day trial, a jury convicted Brian Joaquin Alvarado of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

The co-defendants were sentenced as follows:

•    Brian Crimson Alvarado, 20, was sentenced to 100 months in federal prison, followed by a five-year term of supervised release, on November 5, 2025;
•    Jose Martine Alejo Galan, 29, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, followed by a five-year term of supervised release, on February 27, 2025;
•    Linda Roseanne Gonzalez Gayton, 37, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison, followed by a five-year term of supervised release, on August 28, 2025;
•    Gregory Paul Shiner, 25, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, followed by a five-year term of supervised release, on November 21, 2025; and
•    Kassianne Kay Timm, 30, was sentenced to a time-served sentence, followed by a three-year term of supervised release, on December 18, 2024.

There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Iowa Department of Public Safety – Division of Narcotics Enforcement and United States Postal Inspection Service and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jon Holscher.