GRAND ISLAND, Neb. -- A man from California was sentenced to 13 years in prison on Monday for drug-related charges.

Acting U.S. Attorney Steven Russell said 29-year-old Ricardo Jiminez-Noveno, of San Francisco, Calif., was sentenced in Lincoln, Nebraska to 156 months in prison. Jiminez-Noveno was charged for possession of 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, as well as cocaine and marijuana, with the intent to distribute. He will serve five years of supervised release after his initial prison sentence. There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents, Esteban Dejesus Huerta Rocha, Jose Alfredo Ek-Poot, and Jiminez-Noveno, were traveling east on Interstate 80 near Grand Island on Nov. 4, 2021. They were stopped by a Nebraska State Patrol trooper for driving at 87 mph in a 75-mph zone. Rocha was the driver, Jiminez-Noveno was the front seat passenger, and Ek-Poot was in the back.

Officials said the trooper reported smelling the odor of marijuana coming from the car and saw a bag of marijuana inside the car. The troopers searched the car and found a mason jar containing marijuana in the front passenger door compartment.

Authorities said a backpack with a methamphetamine pipe was found on the front passenger floorboard. Rocha was searched and had a small bag of cocaine in his pocket. Troopers also found approximately 8.5 pounds of meth, 5.5 pounds of marijuana, and 10.8 ounces of cocaine in the trunk.

Jiminez-Noveno pleaded guilty on Aug. 30, 2022. Rocha pleaded guilty on July 6, 2022. On Oct. 7, 2022, Rocha was sentenced to 135-months in prison with five years of supervised release. Ek-Poot is set for a trial beginning on Jan. 23, 2023.

This case was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol.