Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
A Pine Ridge man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for his role in a large-scale conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in the Rapid City area and within the Pine Ridge Reservation. U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier handed down the sentence to Harrison Caldwell, 31, on August 29, 2025.
Caldwell will also serve five years of supervised release following his prison term and must pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. The court ordered that this sentence be served consecutively to a separate 33-month sentence Caldwell received for an unrelated assault case.
According to prosecutors, Caldwell was indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2024 on charges of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. He pleaded guilty on June 16, 2025.
Investigators found that Caldwell and others were involved in distributing significant quantities of methamphetamine in both Pine Ridge and Rapid City starting around November 2023. The drugs distributed as part of this conspiracy were nearly pure methamphetamine sourced from Mexican cartels. During sentencing, Judge Schreier noted that while Caldwell played a role in the conspiracy, his involvement was less significant than other higher-ranking members.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Badlands Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Lindrooth prosecuted the case.
Caldwell was immediately remanded into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.
