United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell has announced the sentencing of Nathan Tobacco-Clifford, a resident of Kyle, South Dakota, for his role in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy on the Pine Ridge Reservation and in Rapid City.
Tobacco-Clifford, aged 49, was handed down a five-year-and-10-month federal prison sentence by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier on September 19, 2025. The defendant will also serve five years of supervised release and is ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
The conviction against Tobacco-Clifford came after he was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2024 for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. He pleaded guilty on April 23, 2025.
According to court documents, Tobacco-Clifford and his co-conspirators were involved in the distribution of methamphetamine on the Pine Ridge Reservation and in Rapid City. During the conspiracy, they traveled from the reservation to Greeley, Colorado, to obtain methamphetamine from Misty Hornbeck, another codefendant. The group attempted to bring drugs into South Dakota but were apprehended in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.
This operation distributed between 500 grams and 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, with each codefendant selling the drug to support their habit. The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Badlands Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, which includes agents from various law enforcement agencies.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Knox prosecuted the case, and Tobacco-Clifford has been remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service following his sentencing.
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Key Facts
- State: South Dakota
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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