SOUTH DAKOTA – United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a McLaughlin, South Dakota, woman convicted of Maintaining a Drug Involved Premises was sentenced on December 14, 2020, by U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann.
Michelle Rose Helper, age 36, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison, three years of supervised release, a $1,000 fine, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Helper was indicted by a federal grand jury on January 14, 2020. She pled guilty on August 17, 2020.
The conviction stemmed from a conspiracy beginning in 2011 and continuing through 2019, wherein Helper unlawfully and knowingly used her residence located in McLaughlin, South Dakota, for the purpose of distributing and using marijuana with Brady Claymore. Helper and Claymore distributed between 40 and 60 kilograms of marijuana at the residence. Claymore was sentenced on October 19, 2020, to 50 months in federal prison.
This case was investigated by the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, the Mobridge Police Department, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron J. Cook prosecuted the case.
Helper will self-report to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service on December 29, 2020.