Three Individuals Plead Guilty to Selling Meth on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation

GRAND FORKS - U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Feb. 19, 2013, Fulton Merrick, Jr., Garrick Mini, and Rayone Sherman, each pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Erickson to a charge of distribution of a controlled substance.

Merrick, Jr., 37, Devils Lake, N.D., pleaded guilty to distributing approximately .40 grams of a substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance, in August of 2011.

Mini, 32, Devils Lake, N.D., pleaded guilty to distributing approximately .15 grams of methamphetamine in August of 2011.

Sherman, 44, Fort Totten, N.D., pleaded guilty to distributing approximately .72 grams of a substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine in May of 2011.

All incidents occurred on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation.

The charge of distribution of a controlled substance carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment.

These cases were investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Indian Affairs, North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Devils Lake Police Department.

Sentencing for all defendants has been scheduled for May 9, 2013, in U.S. District Court in Grand Forks,  N D.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Janice M. Morley is prosecuting the cases.