Pine Ridge Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine

United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, man who pled guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance was sentenced on June 1, 2020, by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Viken.  

Shane Tyon, age 44, was sentenced to 19 ½ years in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. 

From approximately November 2017 to September 2018, Tyon obtained multiple pounds of methamphetamine from a Colorado source on numerous occasions.  During his involvement in the conspiracy, the defendant distributed the methamphetamine on the Pine Ridge Reservation, primarily from his residence.  Other people would obtain methamphetamine from the defendant and would then distribute it further.  The defendant also possessed a firearm in his home during the time he participated in this conspiracy.  

This case was investigated by the Badlands Safe Trails Task Force, which includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety, South Dakota Department of Criminal Investigation, and the Martin, South Dakota, Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Gina S. Nelson prosecuted the case.

Tyon was immediately returned to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.