Four Co-Conspirators Serving Prison Time for Involvement in Fentanyl Conspiracy in Northeast South Dakota

SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Court Judge Charles B. Kornmann has sentenced Daren Lee Basche, a South Dakota man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. This was the last sentencing of the four defendants involved in this indictment, and it took place on October 10, 2023.  Basche, 58, of Brandon, South Dakota, was sentenced to 9 years and 7 months in federal prison, followed by 4 years of supervised release.  Previously, Jevon McLeod, 33, of Sisseton, South Dakota, was sentenced on March 14, 2023, to 40 years in federal prison, followed by 4 years of supervised release.  Tiarah Bissonette, 26, of Sisseton, South Dakota, was sentenced on March 14, 2023, to 4 years and 9 months in federal prison, followed by 4 years of supervised release.  Trey Petrich, 24, of Watertown, South Dakota, was sentenced on August 28, 2023 to 12 years and 7 months in federal prison, followed by 4 years of supervised release. Additionally, they were each ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

All four defendants were indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl by a federal grand jury in July of 2022. Basche pleaded guilty on June 12, 2023, McLeod pleaded guilty on December 5, 2022, Bissonette pleaded guilty on November 16, 2023, and Petrich pleaded guilty on May 3, 2023.

During this conspiracy, McLeod would pick up pills containing fentanyl from co-conspirators in other states and transport it back to South Dakota to be distributed. Basche, Bissonette and Petrich were sub-distributors for McLeod. The group was responsible for distributing thousands of pills containing fentanyl in Northeast South Dakota.

This case was investigated by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigations, the Roberts County Sheriff’s Office, the Codington County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Hodges prosecuted the case.

All defendants were immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service after their sentencings.