Rapid City Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison

Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance was sentenced on November 29, 2021, by Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.

Justin Johnson, age 40, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Johnson was indicted by a federal grand jury on August 21, 2018, and pleaded guilty on July 21, 2021.  The conviction stems from Johnson conspiring with others to distribute nearly 36 ounces of heroin between May and August 2018 at Rapid City.  Johnson’s distribution of heroin included injecting and providing heroin to a 15-year-old during the same time period.  

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and 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, and the South Dakota National Guard.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson prosecuted the case.   

Johnson was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.