United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that an Eagle Butte, South Dakota, woman convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance was sentenced on July 19, 2022, by Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court.
Brenda Faye Fernandez, age 48, was sentenced to ten months in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Fernandez was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 8, 2022. She pled guilty on March 31, 2022.
The conviction stemmed from Fernandez’s involvement in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy between January 1, 2021, and September 30, 2021, in South Dakota. Fernandez knowingly and intentionally conspired with others to distribute methamphetamine on the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation.
This case was investigated 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 prosecuted the case.
Fernandez was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.