Wicahpe ‘Chops’ Milk Gets 30 Years for Meth Trafficking

Wicahpe “Chops” Milk, 38, of Wanblee, South Dakota, is headed to federal prison for 30 years after being convicted of running a sprawling methamphetamine trafficking ring that poisoned communities across western South Dakota. Milk was sentenced on November 12, 2021, by District Court Judge Karen E. Schreier, marking the end of a years-long federal case built on mountains of evidence and testimony from those caught in Milk’s criminal web.

Milk was found guilty at the close of a jury trial held from June 28 to July 2, 2021, on three brutal counts: Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance, Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person, and Obstruction of Justice. The charges stem from a drug pipeline Milk operated beginning in January 2015, when he began sourcing methamphetamine in California and hauling it back to South Dakota for distribution. He didn’t work alone—he recruited at least 15 others to move and sell the poison, turning entire towns into open-air drug markets.

The list of affected communities reads like a map of desperation: Rapid City, Wanblee, Pine Ridge, Kyle, Mission, Box Elder, Martin, and Allen. These are tight-knit towns, many on or near tribal lands, already strained by poverty and addiction. Milk exploited that vulnerability, flooding them with meth while lining his pockets and tightening his grip. His operation wasn’t subtle—it was brazen, violent, and sustained, leaving wreckage in its wake.

The house of cards began to collapse in August 2016, when Milk was a passenger in a vehicle stopped by Pennington County Sheriff’s Office deputies. He didn’t wait for questions—he ran. A short foot chase ended with his arrest. Inside the car: methamphetamine and a firearm. Because Milk had a prior felony conviction, the gun alone was a federal crime. But the feds weren’t just chasing guns and drugs—they were building a conspiracy case, and Milk handed them the blueprint.

From jail, Milk tried to dismantle the case from the inside. He wrote letters to witnesses—not appeals for help, but threats, promises, and outright coercion aimed at killing their testimony. That effort backfired spectacularly, adding an obstruction of justice conviction to his growing list of crimes. The letters became evidence of his control, his reach, and his refusal to accept accountability.

This case was investigated by a coalition of law enforcement agencies under the Badlands Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, including the FBI, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Martin Police Department, and Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn N. Rich prosecuted. Milk was handed over immediately to the U.S. Marshals Service. He now faces 30 years behind bars, followed by five years of supervised release, and a $300 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. The sentence is a gut punch to the streets—and a warning to others running similar operations.