LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — A Nevada man will serve a little over 7 years in prison after he was found with 30,000 fentanyl pills during a traffic stop in southern Utah in 2023.
On October 26, 2023, Utah Highway Patrol troopers made a traffic stop where Christopher Gerard Ruiz, 42, was in the passenger seat and Rachel Marie Aponas, 34, was driving. There were also three children under 10 years old in the backseat, the DOJ reported.
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According to officials, Aponas admitted to having meth inside the car. Officers searched and located a lunch cooler filled with blue M-30 pills, which tested positively for fentanyl.
Ruiz and Aponas were arrested, and the children were removed by the Department of Children and Family Services.
“Anyone who jeopardizes the safety of children and our communities with poisonous drugs will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah.
Aponas was sentenced to a little over 2 years with credit for time served and three years of supervised release, the DOJ stated.
On March 31, 2025, Ruiz pleaded guilty to possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute and was sentenced to a little over 7 years with three years of supervised release, the DOJ reported.
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