A California man is facing up to two decades in prison after a federal jury found him guilty of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine in the Central Florida area.
On Friday, January 10, 2025, U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that 46-year-old Billy Ruiz, of California, has been convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of the drug with intent to distribute it.
Ruiz was indicted on April 6, 2017, though he evaded law enforcement for multiple years. In July of 2024, Ruiz was located, arrested, and arraigned in the Middle District of Florida.
According to evidence presented at his trial, Ruiz sold large amounts of methamphetamine to a “lower-level drug dealer” in March of 2016 for redistribution in Central Florida.
Ruiz ran his drug operation out of Southern California, and he was assisted by one or more co-conspirators. They shipped methamphetamine to Orlando via overnight delivery, and it was then repackaged and distributed throughout Central Florida.
Court records show that Ruiz sold two batches of methamphetamine, which each weighed around two pounds.
Ruiz is scheduled to be sentenced on April 8, 2025. He is facing a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each count.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the Lake Mary Police Department and Orlando Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Sowell and Chauncey Bratt.
Additionally, this case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation. The goal of the task force is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, and multi-agency approach.