Fort Thompson Woman Sentenced for Methamphetamine Charges

United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Fort Thompson, South Dakota, woman charged with Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance was sentenced on March 19, 2018, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.

Ashley Ross, age 30, was sentenced to 168 months in custody, followed by 5 years of supervised release, a fine of $1,000, and a special assessment of $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Ross was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 14, 2017, for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance.  Ross plead guilty on December 29, 2017.

The conviction is a result of Ross receiving distributable quantities of methamphetamine and distributing it in South Dakota beginning in January of 2015. It was reasonably foreseeable to Ross that over 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine would be distributed during the course of the conspiracy.  This methamphetamine was distributed by Ross on the Crow Creek and Lower Brule Indian reservations.  

The investigation was conducted by the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs Crow Creek Agency, and the Sioux Falls Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney SaraBeth Donovan prosecuted the case. 

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