A Rapid City man has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, which resulted in a death. U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier handed down the sentence to Curtis Cummings, aged 39, who was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release following his imprisonment, along with restitution and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Cummings faced indictment by a federal grand jury in June 2023 and was found guilty after a three-day jury trial on November 7, 2024. The conviction stemmed from activities involving the distribution of fentanyl in Rapid City, South Dakota. Cummings and his wife, Katey McGruder, reportedly obtained large quantities of fentanyl weekly from Colorado and brought it back to their home for further distribution.

The case involved several individuals including Christina Sanchez who distributed the substance provided by Cummings and McGruder. On April 26, 2022, they supplied fentanyl to Sanchez who then gave it to Wyatt Nygaard. Nygaard passed the drug onto an individual who died shortly after ingesting it at a convenience store parking lot.

The investigation was conducted by the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team (UNET), which includes personnel from various law enforcement agencies such as the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office and Rapid City Police Department among others.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meghan Dilges and Edward Tarbay led the prosecution against Cummings. Previously, Nygaard received a sentence exceeding 23 years in federal prison while McGruder and Sanchez were each sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment.

Following his sentencing, Cummings was placed into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.