Rapid City Man Sentenced for Methamphetamine Charge

 Acting United States Attorney Dennis Holmes announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance was sentenced on June 7, 2021, by Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court.

Daniel Roan Eagle, age 30, was sentenced to 55 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, a $1,000 fine, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.

Roan Eagle was indicted by a federal grand jury on January 15, 2020.  He pled guilty on March 17, 2021.

The conviction stemmed from an incident that occurred on October 27, 2019, on a rural road in Todd County.  During the early morning hours, Roan Eagle became stranded during a snowstorm.  Officers were able to locate Roan Eagle and get him to safety.  During the contact officers found a backpack that contained marijuana and 80 grams of methamphetamine, along with a scale and other drug paraphernalia items.  Roan Eagle was intending to distribute the methamphetamine on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in central South Dakota.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case was investigated by the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services.  Assistant U.S. Meghan N. Dilges prosecuted the case.

Roan Eagle was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.