Angel Flores, a 31-year-old from Portage, Wisconsin, has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for his role in a statewide drug trafficking organization. This decision was announced by Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin. Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson sentenced Flores for attempting to possess more than 500 grams of cocaine with intent to distribute, to which Flores pleaded guilty on December 18, 2024.
Juan Ojeda, also 31, from West Allis, Wisconsin, received a one-year federal prison sentence for possessing cocaine with intent to distribute. He entered a guilty plea on December 16, 2024, and was sentenced by Judge Peterson the day before Flores's sentencing.
The investigation into this drug trafficking organization began in late 2022, involving agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI. Communications between Flores and his California supplier revealed the distribution of multiple kilograms of cocaine and large quantities of methamphetamine within Wisconsin, covering areas such as Madison, Portage, and La Crosse.
In January 2023, Ojeda, under Flores’s direction, traveled to Chicago to meet a courier from the California supplier and returned to Wisconsin with 12 kilograms of cocaine. By February, intercepted phone communications led to the seizure of a cocaine shipment traveling through Arizona to Illinois, where Flores was slated to receive three kilograms.
Judge Peterson highlighted the extensive quantity and reach of Flores's operations, noting the persistent flow of multiple kilograms of cocaine into Wisconsin. Flores’s 12-year sentence was seen as a message against high-level drug trafficking in the district.
Regarding Ojeda’s sentencing, Judge Peterson remarked on Ojeda's limited role, the absence of a significant criminal history, and his withdrawal from the organization before intervention by law enforcement, resulting in a one-year term.
In March 2025, Judge Peterson also sentenced four other individuals associated with Flores's organization: Braulio Martinez-Salazar received 3 years; Luis Angel Rios, 9 years; David Junius, 7 years; and Justin Purdy, 8 years.
The convictions followed investigations by various agencies, including the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, Dane County Narcotics Task Force, and Madison Police Department, under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).