Pine Ridge Woman Sentenced to 12 ½ Years in Federal Prison for Her Role in a Methamphetamine Conspiracy in South Dakota

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, woman convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance.

Stella Caldwell, age 29, was sentenced on March 7, 2025, to 12 years and seven months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.

Caldwell was indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2024 and pleaded guilty on December 20, 2024.

In the time period charged, Caldwell and others distributed significant amounts of methamphetamine in Pine Ridge and Rapid City, South Dakota. She played a supervisory role in the conspiracy, managing moving drugs from co-conspirators to subsequent distributors. In sentencing Caldwell, Judge Schreier lamented how Caldwell’s actions severely damaged the community. The judge also noted the drugs Caldwell was distributing came from Mexican cartels and was 100% pure methamphetamine.

This case was investigated by Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Lindrooth prosecuted the case.

Caldwell was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service following sentencing.