Rapid City Brothers Found Guilty of Drug Trafficking

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Viken has convicted Elias Condon, age 24, and Jordan Condon, age 22, both of Rapid City, South Dakota, of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance following a two-day court trial in federal district court in Rapid City, South Dakota. The verdict was returned on May 24, 2023.

The charge carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years up to life in custody and/or a $10,000,000 fine, five years up to life of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. 

Elias Condon and Jordan Condon were indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2021. During their involvement in the conspiracy, the brothers made multiple trips to the Denver, Colorado, area where they purchased methamphetamine. They then returned to South Dakota and distributed the methamphetamine to others to further sell or use.  Several times the defendants brought firearms to trade for the methamphetamine. Two co-conspirators have already pleaded guilty to their involvement. Edward Ybarra was sentenced to 15 ½ years in federal prison on March 3, 2023.  Ramon Morales-Padilla will be sentenced on July 21, 2023.

This case was investigated by the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team (UNET), which is comprised of law enforcement from the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Rapid City Police Department, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, South Dakota Highway Patrol, and the South Dakota National Guard. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn N. Rich prosecuted the case.

A presentence investigation was ordered and sentencing dates are pending. The defendants were remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.