Jose Reynaldo Cardenas Jr, Meth Trafficking, Idaho 2024

Five men are headed to federal prison after being sentenced for their roles in a wide-reaching methamphetamine trafficking ring that saturated the Treasure Valley with high-purity drugs. 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 handed stiff penalties in federal court today, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson confirmed.

Cardenas pleaded guilty on September 13, 2016, to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and two counts of distribution. He admitted to selling 221.5 grams of pure meth to an undercover officer in Caldwell on November 23 and December 21, 2015. Arrested on February 23, 2016, he was found with a loaded firearm and told investigators he was part of a larger network moving 20 to 30 pounds of meth every three days for two years. Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge sentenced him to 12 years in prison, five years supervised release, and ordered forfeiture of $100,000. Cardenas had prior convictions for cocaine possession and unlawful possession of an AK-47.

Rivas, a Nampa man with a violent past, pleaded guilty on August 31, 2016, to possession with intent to distribute meth and heroin. He was caught in Boise after returning from Mexico, where he picked up a shipment. Authorities found 1.5 pounds of meth and one pound of heroin hidden in his vehicle’s gas tank. Visiting Senior U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb sentenced him to 10 years in prison, five years supervised release, and ordered $15,000 in forfeiture. Rivas had a 1999 felony conviction for aggravated assault after shooting someone over an unpaid debt, plus convictions for concealed carry, battery, domestic battery, and drug possession.

Ward and Alford both pleaded guilty to distributing methamphetamine after buying a pound from a co-conspirator and reselling half to an undercover officer. Ward received 11 years in prison and five years supervised release; Alford was sentenced to 10 years and five years supervised release. Both were ordered to forfeit $100,000 in cash proceeds. Ward had prior felony drug convictions in 2005 and 2015. Alford had felony convictions for meth possession with intent to distribute in 2005, possession of a controlled substance that same year, and felony domestic battery in 2007.

Gonzalez pleaded guilty on August 30, 2016, to distributing methamphetamine after selling two ounces to an undercover detective in Nampa. He was sentenced to five years in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, and ordered to forfeit $1,200. His case, like the others, highlighted the brazen nature of the operation and the depth of law enforcement’s infiltration.

The convictions are the result of a joint investigation by the Boise Police Department Narcotics Unit and the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), which includes the FBI, DEA, ATF, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The probe dismantled a network responsible for flooding communities with deadly narcotics, and officials say the forfeitures—totaling $216,200—deal a financial blow to the operation’s remnants.

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