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Press Release

Rosebud Man Sentenced For Conspiracy To Distribute Marijuana And Possession Of Methamphetamine

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of South Dakota

United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Rosebud, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana and Possession of Methamphetamine in two different cases, was sentenced on August 12, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.

Phillip Stands, age 50, was sentenced to 44 months of custody, 3 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund for conspiracy to distribute between 50 and 100 kilograms of marijuana.  He was sentenced to an additional 6 months of custody, a $1,000 fine, and a $25 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund for possession of methamphetamine.  The two sentences are to be served consecutively.

Stands was indicted on August 29, 2012, for three counts of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana.  He pled guilty to a Superseding Information in May 2013 charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana.  The conspiracy conviction arose from incidents that occurred in Todd County beginning in October 2008 and continuing to August 2012, when Stands conspired to distribute between 50 and 100 kilograms of marijuana.

Regarding the possession conviction, Stands was indicted by a federal grand jury on August 22, 2012, for two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  He pled guilty to a Superseding Information charging him with possession of methamphetamine in May 2013.  The conviction in this case stems from an incident in March 2012 when law enforcement discovered a small amount of methamphetamine on Stands.

The investigations were conducted by the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force and Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement.  The cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn N. Rich and Jay Miller.

Stands was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service to begin serving his sentence.

Updated June 22, 2015