Two men accused of having over 100 pounds of meth in car during Cerro Gordo County traffic stop plead not guilty

CLEAR LAKE — Two men who were arrested after a traffic stop in Cerro Gordo County in December and allegedly found to have over 100 pounds of methamphetamine in their vehicle have pleaded not guilty.

The Iowa State Patrol made the stop on December 7th near the 188 mile marker on Interstate 35 near Clear Lake as part of a level three commercial vehicle inspection due to an oversized load. Authorities say the vehicle was taken to a Department of Transportation shed in Mason City where the contents of the vehicle were unloaded, where they allegedly found four duffel bags containing a total of about 100 pound of meth.

51-year-old Juan Ruiz Garcia of Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin and 33-year-old Jamie Hurtado of Waukegan, Illinois were both charged with possession with the intent to deliver or manufacture meth over five kilograms and failure to affix a drug tax stamp. Both have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Hurtado’s trial is scheduled to start on March 8th while Garcia has his trial scheduled for a March 15th start.