SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. The sentencing took place on March 13, 2023.
Ryan Garner Gillis, 51, was sentenced to 10 years and 10 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Gillis was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury in January of 2022. He pleaded guilty on Dec. 14, 2022.
On Aug. 21, 2021, Gillis was in a vehicle with his co-conspirators and was legally stopped and searched by law enforcement. Inside, law enforcement found 137.68 grams of methamphetamine. On that same day, law enforcement conducted a search of his residence and seized another 150.63 grams of methamphetamine. Additionally, law enforcement searched another residence where Gillis was storing items and seized yet another 212 grams of methamphetamine, along with approximately $46,374 in cash, which was the proceeds of previous methamphetamine sales. Gillis obtained all this methamphetamine with the intent of distributing it to others throughout the Sioux Falls area.
This case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Paige Petersen, who also serves as a prosecutor with the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office.
Gillis was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys