SACRAMENTO, CALIF. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - California, Eastern), published as received.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Manuel Ruben Perez, 40, of Orland, was sentenced on Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge Troy L. Nunley to 19 years and 10 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.
According to court documents, between April and July 2018, Perez worked with others to sell methamphetamine and heroin in and around Orland. During this time, Perez sourced methamphetamine from Southern California and sold it in Northern California. Over the course of the investigation, he executed at least six drug deals with a confidential informant, selling multiple kilograms of methamphetamine in total. During these transactions, Perez also sold the informant heroin when he could obtain it. Perez negotiated the prices for each deal and often had others deliver the drugs and collect the money on his behalf. The investigation uncovered that Perez sold to multiple buyers across Northern California.
On Jan. 29, 2026, Perez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Lassen County Sheriff’s Office, the Lassen County District Attorney’s Office, the Susanville Police Department, and the Glenn County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney James Conolly prosecuted the case.
This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Sacramento is composed of agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Northern California High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, Central Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
