PIERRE, (KCCR) — A Minnesota man has been convicted of distributing drugs on South Dakota Indian Reservations in central South Dakota. U-S Attorney Ron Parsons says Chief Judge Roberto Lange sentenced 56 year-old Lugene Rafael Russell of Ellsworth, Minnesota to 22 and-a-half years in federal prison and put Russell on 10 years of supervised release upon the end of his prison term. Russel was indicted on a charge of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury in November of last year. He pleaded guilty in August. Parsons says law enforcement in Nobles County, Minnesota responded to Russell’s home in July of 2024 for a report of a crime. After obtaining a search warrant, authorities found approximately a half pound of methamphetamine and a pistol. Deputies returned to the home and found an additional 12 pounds of meth and three more firearms. Further investigation determined Russell was working with other to ge the drugs then distribute them on the Crow Creek and Lower Brule reservations in central South Dakota. Russell was taken into custody by the U-S Marshals Service to begin serving his sentence.
Comments