Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
Alison J. Ramsdell, U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota, announced that several local agencies received a Regional Award from the Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). The award ceremony was held in Sioux Falls on March 12, 2025, to honor collaborative efforts that led to the disruption of a significant drug trafficking operation. This organization was responsible for transporting approximately 140 pounds of methamphetamine from Mexico and Arizona into South Dakota and Louisiana.
The Midwest HIDTA Outstanding Prosecution Award was presented to agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Additionally, detectives from the Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force and officers with the South Dakota Highway Patrol and Moody County Sheriff’s Office were recognized. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Hodges also received recognition for securing federal convictions against 19 individuals involved in this large-scale conspiracy.
The investigation lasted nearly two years and identified Christopher Daniels as the leader of a South Dakota cell within a multi-state drug trafficking network. It was discovered that Daniels acquired methamphetamine from Sean Gross in Arizona, who sourced it from Rusty Driscoll. Driscoll had direct ties to a supplier in Mexico. Gross and Driscoll also sent methamphetamine to Jessica Louviere in Louisiana. Daniels distributed at least 120 pounds of methamphetamine in South Dakota alone.
As a result of federal prosecutions, key figures in this drug conspiracy received substantial sentences: Driscoll was sentenced to 45 years; Daniels received 30 years; Gross more than 26 years; and Louviere was sentenced to 14 years.
U.S. Attorney Ramsdell stated, “We are extremely fortunate to have local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies who readily and regularly collaborate to intercept drugs being trafficked into our communities.” She emphasized that this case exemplifies effective collaboration between law enforcement agencies and federal prosecutors working together to dismantle drug trafficking organizations.
The HIDTA program, established by Congress through the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, supports Federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in critical drug-trafficking regions across the United States. Managed by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, there are currently 33 HIDTAs covering counties in all states as well as Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington D.C.
In South Dakota, counties participating in the Midwest HIDTA include Beadle, Brookings, Brown, Clay, Codington, Custer, Lawrence, Lincoln, Meade, Minnehaha, Pennington, Union, and Yankton.
