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Press Release

McLaughlin Woman Sentenced for Meth Trafficking

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of South Dakota

United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a McLaughlin, South Dakota, woman convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine was sentenced on August 24, 2020, by U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann.

Melissa Rose Decoteau, a/k/a Melissa Rose Bobtail Bear, age 35, was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, a $1,000 fine, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.

Decoteau was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 16, 2019.  She pled guilty on August 24, 2020.

The conviction stemmed from a conspiracy in 2018, wherein Decoteau conspired with others to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine on the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota.  

This case was investigated by the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, the Mobridge Police Department, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Corson County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron J. Cook prosecuted the case.

Decoteau was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

Updated August 27, 2020

Topics
Drug Trafficking
Indian Country Law and Justice