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Press Release
RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. The sentencing took place on June 6, 2025.
James Thunder Hawk, age 42, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
A federal grand jury indicted Thunder Hawk in October 2022. He pleaded guilty on March 26, 2025.
Beginning in December 2020, and continuing through October 2022, Thunder Hawk and others joined in an agreement or understanding to distribute at least 500 grams of methamphetamine in South Dakota. Some of the co-conspirators traveled to the Denver area, and other places, to acquire the drug. Thunder Hawk knew some of this methamphetamine he was selling would be further distributed.
This case was investigated by the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team (UNET). UNET 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 Megan Poppen prosecuted the case.
Thunder Hawk was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
usasd.press@usdoj.gov