Rey Rivera Ruiz, Drug Trafficking, District of Columbia 2022

Three Men Indicted in District of Columbia on Federal Charges Involving Drug Trafficking Organization Based in Puerto Rico

WASHINGTON – Three alleged members of a drug trafficking organization based in Puerto Rico have been indicted in the District of Columbia, following an investigation into shipments of cocaine from San Juan for distribution in the Washington, D.C. area.

Rey Rivera Ruiz, 39, of San Juan, Puerto Rico, the alleged leader, was indicted on May 26, 2022, in a superseding indictment returned by a grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, and one count of continuing criminal enterprise, for his leadership and supervisory role in the drug trafficking organization.

Additionally, Jann Jousten Aponte Rivera, 26, and Michael Gabriel Hernandez Rivera, 20, both of San Juan, Puerto Rico, were indicted on one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, one count of continuing criminal enterprise — causing the intentional death of Shantay Butler, 44 — and one count of causing the death through the use of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking offense.

If convicted, the defendants face a mandatory-minimum term of 20 years imprisonment and a maximum term of life imprisonment or death. The indictment also includes a forfeiture allegation seeking all proceeds of the alleged crimes.

According to the government’s evidence, in the fall of 2019, Rivera Ruiz, who was assisted by Aponte Rivera and Hernandez Rivera, and several other individuals, shipped kilogram quantities of cocaine from San Juan to the Washington, D.C. area, via the U.S. Postal Service. Once the kilograms arrived in the Washington, D.C. area, a local drug trafficker distributed the kilograms in the community.

The murder took place on Oct. 14, 2020. At that time, the local drug trafficker owed several thousands of dollars to the Puerto Rico drug trafficking organization and was ordered to pay for several kilograms of cocaine which did not arrive in the Washington, D.C. area. In October of 2020, the local drug trafficker met Aponte Rivera and Hernandez Rivera in a desolate part of Levittown, Puerto Rico. Ms. Butler was in the passenger seat of the vehicle driven by the local drug trafficker. Both Aponte Rivera and Hernandez Rivera pulled out firearms and opened fired on the local drug trafficker.

The defendants will be arraigned on the charges on a date to be determined by the Court. Members of the local drug trafficking organization have previously been charged for their role in the drug trafficking scheme. Rey Rivera Ruiz, Jann Jousten Aponte Rivera, and Michael Gabriel Hernandez Rivera have remained in custody since their April 2021 arrests.

The exact date of sentencing for the defendants has not been determined. However, if they are convicted, they face a mandatory-minimum term of 20 years imprisonment and a maximum term of life imprisonment or death, along with the potential forfeiture of all proceeds derived from their alleged crimes. The investigation was led by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division.

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