Denver Man Convicted on Federal Drug and Gun Charges

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a jury has convicted Juan Sertuche, age 43, of Denver, Colorado, of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance – Methamphetamine, Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance – Fentanyl, and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime following a three-day jury trial in federal district court in Rapid City, South Dakota.  The verdict was returned on January 8, 2026.

“We may never know the true depths of the devastation, suffering, and loss inflicted on our communities by the methamphetamine, fentanyl, and automatic weapons trafficked and sold by this defendant,” said U.S. Attorney Parsons.  “But we will do our best to hold this profiteer of misery fully accountable and ensure he receives a federal prison sentence that will put him out of that business for a long time.”

The two charges for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance each carry a mandatory minimum of 10 years up to life imprisonment, a $10 million dollar fine, at least five years up to life supervised release, and a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.  The charge for Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking crime carries a mandatory minimum of five years up to life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, five years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.  

Sertuche was indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2024.   

Between 2002 and September 2023, Juan Sertuche led a drug distribution conspiracy and provided hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine and tens of thousands of fentanyl pills to multiple sub-distributors to be further distributed in the Rapid City and Pine Ridge areas of South Dakota.  On one occasion, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of couriers who Sertuche had directed to travel from Denver to the Rapid City area.  During the traffic stop, law enforcement discovered 19 pounds of methamphetamine intended to be further distributed in the Rapid City area.  In September 2023, Sertuche was arrested following a traffic stop in Jackson County where he was found to be in possession of approximately 1500 fentanyl pills that he intended to be further distributed. 

Following his arrest, Sertuche, continued to try to get others he was conspiring with to continue the drug distribution efforts, including by collecting money and making trips to Denver to pick up methamphetamine and fentanyl.  Sertuche also directed another person on several occasions to collect numerous firearms that were part of his drug dealing to Denver to be traded for methamphetamine.  Law enforcement was able to recover those firearms, including two fully automatic machine guns, before they could be taken and used as currency for drugs.

This case was investigated by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Rapid City Police Department, South Dakota Highway Patrol, Wyoming State Highway Patrol, and the North Metro Denver Drug Task Force.  Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson and Assistant U.S. Attorney Paige Petersen prosecuted the case.

A presentence investigation will be ordered, and a sentencing date will be set.  The defendant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.