Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
A Minnesota man has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine on Indian reservations in South Dakota. The sentencing was announced by United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell and took place on February 24, 2025, under U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Francisco Javier Mendez, aged 40, from Mountain Lake, Minnesota, will also serve five years of supervised release following his prison term and has been ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Victims Fund.
Mendez was indicted by a federal grand jury in June 2024 for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person. He pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge on November 22, 2024.
The charges stem from an incident on June 18, 2023, when Mendez was stopped in Thayer County, Nebraska while traveling as a passenger in a vehicle. Officers discovered approximately 1,359 grams of methamphetamine concealed on him during the traffic stop. Mendez admitted to law enforcement that he and the driver were returning to South Dakota after purchasing methamphetamine from Wichita, Kansas with plans to distribute it on South Dakota reservations. He further disclosed that they had made a similar trip two to three weeks earlier and purchased an additional three pounds of methamphetamine.
The investigation into this case was conducted by the FBI and prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Joyce.
Following his sentencing, Mendez was immediately taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.
