Rapid City Man Sentenced to 12.5 Years for Meth Trafficking Conspiracy

United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man who pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance was sentenced on December 1, 2020, by U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey L. Viken.  

Keeler Stands, age 24, was sentenced to 12.5 years in federal prison, five years’ supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.  From approximately July 2019 to late December 2019, methamphetamine was brought to South Dakota from Nevada by others. Stands then dispersed the methamphetamine to others for use or additional distribution.

This case was investigated by the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team (UNET), Drug Enforcement Agency, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. UNET is comprised of law enforcement from the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, the Rapid City Police Department, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation and the South Dakota National Guard.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn N. Rich prosecuted the case. 

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