Meinrad Medicine, 58, of Mobridge, South Dakota, stands accused of feeding the opioid crisis after being indicted on federal charges tied to the distribution of Hydrocodone and Oxycodone. A federal grand jury returned the indictment on March 12, 2019, charging Medicine with Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Distribution of a Controlled Substance—two counts that don’t carry leniency in the federal system.
The indictment lays out a calculated operation, alleging that between December 21, 2016, and March 27, 2017, Medicine knowingly conspired with others to move pills laced with detectable amounts of powerful prescription narcotics. These aren’t street-corner transactions casually brushed aside; they’re federal offenses with teeth—each count exposing him to up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine if convicted.
Medicine appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge William D. Gerdes on May 2, 2019, where he entered a plea of not guilty. Despite the plea, the government is moving full throttle, backed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which led the probe. The case is now in the hands of Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy R. Morley, who will push to prove Medicine’s role beyond a reasonable doubt.
If found guilty, Medicine faces not only decades behind bars but also a mandatory $100 payment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund, up to life on supervised release, and possible restitution. These penalties reflect the federal government’s hardline stance on drug trafficking, especially in rural zones like the Standing Rock Reservation, where diversion of prescription narcotics has fueled public health crises.
For now, Medicine walks free under bond as the court awaits trial. No date has been set, but the gears are turning. The indictment doesn’t name co-conspirators, leaving open questions about the network behind the operation. But one thing’s clear: federal prosecutors aren’t treating this as an isolated incident.
The charges remain allegations. Meinrad Medicine is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. But in the court of public opinion, especially in tight-knit communities like Mobridge, the stigma sticks. The FBI’s involvement signals this case could ripple beyond one man’s fate—potentially exposing deeper supply chains in the upper Plains drug trade.
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Key Facts
- State: South Dakota
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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