- Christopher Ruiz and Rachel Aponas were arrested in 2023 during a traffic stop in Iron County.
- Approximately 30,000 fentanyl pills were found in their minivan where three children were present.
- Ruiz received a 92-month prison sentence for possessing fentanyl with intent to distribute.
ST. GEORGE — A man who was arrested for possessing fentanyl while children were in the vehicle with him was sentenced last month to more than 7.5 years in prison.
Christopher Gerard Ruiz, 43, and Rachel Marie Aponas, 35, of Las Vegas, were arrested in October 2023 during a traffic stop in Iron County.
The two were traveling on I-15 when Aponas made a lane change without using a turn signal, according to a police booking affidavit. The Utah Highway Patrol trooper who noticed this also observed one of the children moving around in the backseat and "she clearly did not have a seat belt fastened."
The trooper conducted a traffic stop and, while issuing a traffic citation, asked if he could search the vehicle for narcotics, the affidavit states. Aponas then admitted she had a methamphetamine pipe in the glove box and had smoked the night before, police said.
The minivan, which had three children aged 10 and under in the backseat, was searched, and approximately 30,000 pills were located in a small lunch cooler, according to court documents. The parents were arrested, and the children in the vehicle were removed by the Utah Division of Child and Family Services.
"The investigation showed that they both knew the narcotics were in the vehicle. They were being paid to transport them. The driver also admitted that the methamphetamine pipe with residue was used by both her and the passenger," the police booking affidavit said.
Ruiz and Aponas were charged in 5th District Court with drug possession with intent to distribute, a second-degree felony, and class A misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Aponas was also charged with two traffic violations and driving with a measurable amount of controlled substances in her body, a class B misdemeanor.
In December 2023, all state charges against Ruiz and Aponas were dismissed due to their being federally indicted for a charge of possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute.
Ruiz pleaded guilty in March 2025 to the federal charge and was sentenced in April to 92 months in prison plus three years of probation.
Aponas, who was described in her sentencing memorandum as "playing a very minor role in the distribution of drugs," received 28 months in prison and three years of probation during her May 2025 sentencing.
"The safety of children is a top priority of my office and this administration. The fact that Ruiz and Aponas had three children in the vehicle with illicit drugs, specifically 30,000 fentanyl pills and methamphetamine within arm's reach, is unimaginable," said first assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah. "Anyone who jeopardizes the safety of children and our communities with poisonous drugs will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
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