United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, man who pled guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance, was sentenced on February 6, 2020, by U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey L. Viken.
Vance Hayes, age 29, was sentenced to a total of 5 years in federal prison, followed by 4 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
The conviction stems from Hayes distributing methamphetamine in the Pine Ridge, South Dakota, area during the timeframe of approximately March 2016 to May 2019. Hayes obtained the methamphetamine from a source in Rapid City.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Badlands Safe Trails Drug Task Force, which includes agents from the FBI, Bureau of Indian Affairs - Division of Drug Enforcement, Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety, Martin Police Department, and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn N. Rich prosecuted the case. Additional co-conspirators have been sentenced and others are pending trial.
Hayes was immediately returned to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
