Two Persons Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possessing Methamphetamine with the Intention of Distributing the Controlled Substance

PIERRE - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Court Judge Eric C. Schulte has sentenced a Fort Thompson woman and a Lower Brule man convicted of Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Aiding and Abetting.

Dalton Erickson, age 29, pleaded guilty on June 9, 2026.  He was sentenced on September 21, 2026, to six years and six months in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Logan Marks, age 29, pleaded guilty on July 2, 2026.  She was sentenced on October 5, 2026, to three years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Erickson and Marks were indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2025. 

These convictions stem from a traffic stop on March 12, 2024, within the Lower Brule Sioux Indian Reservation.  Erickson was the driver and Marks was a passenger in the vehicle pulled over by law enforcement.  A drug-sniffing dog detected a telltale scent inside the car.  Officers searched the vehicle and located 97.4 grams of pure methamphetamine.  Erickson and Marks had hidden the drugs in the engine compartment of the vehicle. 

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.  Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). 

This case was investigated by the BIA and FBI.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Dilges prosecuted the case.

Erickson and Marks were immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.