FARGO — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - North Dakota), published as received.

FARGO – Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Klemetsrud Puhl announced that beginning on May 15, 2025, a multi-state law enforcement operation resulted in the arrests of nine defendants following their indictment by a federal grand jury in the District of North Dakota for roles in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy with ties to the Almighty Latin King Nation criminal street gang.

The defendants arrested are:

Ricardo Jaquez, 46, Oakes, North Dakota

Israel David Flores, a/k/a Izzy, 45, Audubon, Minnesota

Michelle Lee Fuller, 38, Audubon, Minnesota

Jose Manuel Jaquez, a/k/a Cash, 36, Oakes, North Dakota

Jacob Edward Lambert, 37, Oakes, North Dakota

Ashley Marie Bleecker, 40, Belcourt, North Dakota

Alfredo Hernandez Jaquez, a/k/a Freddy, 47, Wells, Minnesota

Wesley Wayne Tolleson, 37, Wells, Minnesota

Jason Leonard Gulden, 44, Aberdeen, South Dakota

All defendants have made appearances in federal court in North Dakota and face up to life in prison with a 10-year minimum mandatory if convicted.

This case is part of Operation Crown Down, an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation into methamphetamine trafficking in North Dakota and other states. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

An indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Division of Drug Enforcement; Homeland Security Investigations; the Oakes Police Department; the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation; the Cass County Drug Task Force; the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension; the Paul Bunyan Drug Task Force; the Pine to Prairie Drug Task Force; the CEE-VI Drug Task Force; the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and the Brown County (South Dakota) Sheriff’s Office.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew P. Kopp.

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