United States Attorney Dennis Holmes announced that an Eagle Butte, South Dakota, woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance.
Brenda Faye Fernandez, age 48, was indicted on February 8, 2022. She appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on February 23, 2022, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 20 years in federal prison and/or a $1,000,000 fine, a lifetime of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The Indictment alleges that between January 1, 2021, and September 30, 2021, in South Dakota, Fernandez knowingly and intentionally conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The Indictment further alleges that on May 26, 2021, in Eagle Butte, Fernandez knowingly and intentionally possessed methamphetamine with intent to distribute.
The charges are merely accusations and Fernandez is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services, the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, and the South Dakota Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron J. Cook is prosecuting the case.
Fernandez was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has not been set.