RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, man convicted of Distribution of a Controlled Substance to an Individual Under 21 Years of Age, was sentenced on May 1, 2023, by Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.

Charles Richards, Jr., age 53, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, followed by six years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. 

Richards was indicted for the charge by a federal grand jury, and pleaded guilty in February of 2023. The conviction stems from Richards distributing controlled substances to children under 21 years of age between June and July of 2019.

The case was investigated by the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan Poppen and Heather Sazama prosecuted the case.

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

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