California Man Sentenced to Four Years Imprisonment for Meth Trafficking Conspiracy

Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Mexican national who had been living in southern California, who pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance in South Dakota was sentenced on July 9, 2021 by U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey L. Viken.

Uzziel Alejandro Carillo-Rojas, age 34, was sentenced to four years in federal prison, followed by three years supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund, restitution.

Uzziel Alejandro Carillo-Rojas was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury on December 8, 2020. He pleaded guilty on February 19, 2021.

From approximately June 2019 to December 2020, Carillo-Rojas obtained methamphetamine in California and transported it to South Dakota for further distribution. Carillo-Rojas was to receive compensation for transporting the methamphetamine. On November 11, 2020, Carillo-Rojas and a codefendant arrived in South Dakota to deliver 10 pounds of methamphetamine and were subsequently stopped and arrested by law enforcement.

This case was investigated by the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team (UNET), Drug Enforcement Administration, and Homeland Security Investigations. UNET is comprised of law enforcement from the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, the Rapid City Police Department, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, South Dakota Highway Patrol, and the South Dakota National Guard. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn N. Rich prosecuted the case.

Uzziel Alejandro Carillo-Rojas was immediately returned to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.