North Dakota Woman Sentenced For Possession With Intent To Distribute A Controlled Substance

United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Fort Yates, North Dakota, woman convicted of Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance was sentenced on September 11, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange. 
         
April Pretends Eagle, age 32, was sentenced to 86 days in custody, a $1,000 fine, 2 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. 

Pretends Eagle was indicted for Distribution of a Controlled Substance to a Person Under the Age of 21 and Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury on October 16, 2012.  She pled guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance on June 25, 2013.

The conviction stems from an investigation of burglaries in Eagle Butte, South Dakota.  While investigating the burglaries, a criminal investigator for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe learned that several juveniles committed a series of the burglaries and that some of the stolen items could be located at co-defendant Philip LaBatte’s residence.  The investigator obtained a tribal search warrant for LaBatte’s residence, where Pretends Eagle was staying.  When law enforcement executed the search warrant, they found, among other things, at least 250 grams, but less than 1 kilogram, of marijuana along with a scale, rolling papers, and a grinder. 

The investigation was conducted by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Division and the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force.   Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn N. Rich prosecuted the case.