COVINGTON, KY (Friday, April 18, 2025) – A Dry Ridge, Ky., man, Rodney Ruggles, 45, was sentenced on Thursday to 120 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge David Bunning, for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and oxycodone and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
According to his plea agreement, on December 13, 2023, law enforcement stopped a vehicle operated by Ruggles for several driving violations. After Ruggles consented to a search of the vehicle, law enforcement found a firearm safe containing five grams of methamphetamine, a small bag of marijuana, 3.5 oxycodone pills, 50 to 100 baggies, and a pistol. Ruggles admitted to possessing the methamphetamine and oxycodone with the intent to distribute and that he possessed the firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Ruggles also admitted to distributing methamphetamine for several weeks before he was arrested. Specifically, he admitted from November 2023 to December 2023, he obtained approximately one ounce of methamphetamine from his source of supply, every two days.
Under federal law, Ruggles must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence. Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for five years.
Paul McCaffrey, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Jim Scott, Special Agent in Charge, DEA, Louisville Field Division; and Sheriff Michael Helmig, Boone County Sheriff’s Office, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA and Boone County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel King is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
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