Paulette Allen, age 64, from Sioux City, Iowa, was sentenced March 3, 2026, to more than 3 years in federal prison, after an October 9, 2025, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, and two counts of distribution of controlled substances. Donald Most, age 61, from Sioux City...

Todd Babb, 62, from Sioux City, Iowa, was sentenced in federal court in Sioux City on April 6, 2026, to 210 months’ imprisonment. Babb pled guilty November 19, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Evidence showed that Babb was previously convicted of at least five prior felony drug offenses, one...

Twenty-six-year-old Chicago resident Devon Frazier was sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison after a December 20, 2024, guilty plea to one count of distribution of methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. Information disclosed at the sentencing hearing showed that on Feb. 8...

A Mexican national who was in the country illegally has pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen. According to court documents, Mercado-Chaparro sold a pound of methamphetamine to an undercover police officer. Police followed Mercado-Chaparro after the buy and saw him...

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) offices in South Dakota reported a 43% increase in fentanyl powder seizures and 41% decrease in counterfeit pill seizures in 2025 falling in line with a nationwide trend. Across the United States, the DEA has noticed a shift away from pill production...

MINNEAPOLIS – A prior convicted felon was charged in a criminal complaint today with being a felon in possession of a firearm and theft of government property after breaking into an FBI vehicle and stealing a rifle, announced United States Attorney Daniel N. Rosen. Rosen was joined in the announcement...

SAN DIEGO – Marco Antonio Lopez-Guerrero, an alleged Mexicali-based methamphetamine trafficker linked to the Sinaloa Cartel, was extradited from Mexico on October 24th to face drug and firearms charges. Lopez-Guerrero was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of California in July 2020. He is charged with...

SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a jury has convicted Christopher Spider, a/k/a “House”, age 45 of South Dakota and Lance Brunsting, age 56, of Colorado, of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance following a four-day jury trial in federal district court in Sioux Falls...

SAN DIEGO – Keith Octavio Rodriguez Padilla, a prolific firearms trafficker, was sentenced in federal court today to 19.5 years in custody for his role in supplying weapons and tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition to the Sinaloa Cartel. This case is part of a long-running investigation targeting the...

SAN DIEG O - Former U.S. Border Patrol Agent Hector Hernandez, who admitted that he took bribes to smuggle methamphetamine and people across the U.S.-Mexico border while on duty, was sentenced in federal court today to 87-months in prison. Hernandez pleaded guilty in January, admitting that he agreed to use...