Wichita men sentenced for bringing cocaine & meth from California to Kansas

WICHITA, KAN. - A Kansas man was sentenced to 37 months in prison for attempting to transport illegal narcotics from the West Coast to Wichita.

According to court documents, Jonathan Umana, 29, of Wichita pleaded guilty to one count of interstate travel in aid of racketeering.

In January 2024, Kansas Highway Patrol stopped Umana on in Ford County for speeding. After Umana gave illogical responses to questions, the trooper asked for permission to search the vehicle. Umana consented. The officer found approximately two pounds of methamphetamine and six pounds of cocaine in a backpack inside the car. Umana was arrested. An investigation revealed Umana had flown from Wichita to California to pick up the drugs then rented a vehicle to drive back to Kansas for intended distribution.

Text messages show that that Christian Abel Ruiz, 44, of Wichita arranged for Umana to pick up the drugs from a source in California by supplying Umana with an address and phone number and instructions of where to deliver the drugs upon returning to Kansas.

Ruiz pleaded guilty to one count of interstate travel in aid of racketeering and was sentenced to 60 months in prison.

"The right to freely travel within our nation's borders is central to the American way of life, but too criminals often exploit this easy access to bring in narcotics, weapons, and other unsavory elements that law abiding citizens don't want in our communities," said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser. "We encourage Kansas law enforcement agencies confiscating narcotics they can prove crossed state lines to reach out to the Department of Justice. This is a federal offense, and a conviction may offer stiffer penalties for these offenses than at the state level."

The Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) investigated the case.

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