United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that an Eagle Butte, South Dakota, woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance.
Mary Etta Kessler, a/k/a/ Marietta Kessler, age 55, was indicted on Feb. 13, 2019. She appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on Feb. 15, 2019, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to life in prison and/or a $5,000,000 fine, a lifetime of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund for each count. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that at a time unknown, but no later than on April 1, 2016, and continuing to Feb. 13, 2019, in South Dakota, Kessler knowingly and intentionally conspired with others to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance.
The charge is merely an accusation and Kessler is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges is prosecuting the case.
Kessler was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has not been set.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
