Batesland Man Sentenced For Conspiracy To Distribute Marijuana

United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Batesland, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance was sentenced on December 2, 2013, by U.S. Chief Judge Jeffery L. Viken.

Richard Marshall, age 46, was sentenced to 60 months in custody, 4 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.  
         
Marshall was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury on May 15, 2012.  He pled guilty on August 23, 2013.
         
Beginning no later than 2010 until May 15, 2012, Marshall received and stored marijuana, in excess of 100 kilograms, from Abraham Romero and then engaged in further distribution within the District of South Dakota.  Marshall was acting as an organizer or leader in this drug conspiracy.  Romero was previously sentenced to 120 months in custody.      

This case was investigated by the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services, and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Ted L. McBride and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura A. Shattuck prosecuted the case.

Marshall was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.