RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA
Sindy Richards, 35, a prolific drug dealer from Spearfish, South Dakota, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute approximately 100 pounds of methamphetamine in western South Dakota, according to U.S. Attorney Ron Parsons.
A federal grand jury indicted Richards in November 2024 for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. She pleaded guilty on October 6, 2025.
Richards joined a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in 2023, working with others to obtain the drug from California, typically through the mail, for redistribution in and around the Black Hills. She was identified by law enforcement as being closely associated with the main drug dealer in this case, assisting him in meeting with other co-conspirators within the Rapid City area to further distribute methamphetamine.
Richards was involved in trafficking approximately 100 pounds of methamphetamine during her involvement in the conspiracy. The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service, the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team (UNET), and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
UNET is comprised of law enforcement from the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, the Rapid City Police Department, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the South Dakota Highway Patrol, and the South Dakota National Guard. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Hodges and Paige Petersen prosecuted the case.
Richards was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. She was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund and will be subject to five years of supervised release following her prison sentence.
Related Federal Cases
- Anita M. Kenyon, Meth Conspiracy, South Dakota 2024 · South Dakota
- Salvador Madrigal Jr., Methamphetamine Trafficking, South Dakota 2024 · South Dakota
- Salvador Madrigal Jr, Methamphetamine Distribution, South Dakota 2023 · South Dakota
- Georgia Pfeifle, Marijuana Distribution Conspiracy, South Dakota 2014 · South Dakota
- Adam Dean Stoneman, Methamphetamine Conspiracy, California 2016 · Nebraska
Key Facts
- State: South Dakota
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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