A 35 year old man from Pierre convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine has been sentenced in federal court.
Dustin Warnke must spend 174 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, a $1,000 fine and forfeiture of a firearm.
The conviction stemmed from a conspiracy beginning in at least March 2018, and continuing to November 2019, wherein Warnke was involved with several other individuals, including Andrew Bunch, Nicole Hopkins, Adam Tanner and Nathan Thoe (deceased), to distribute methamphetamine in central South Dakota. During the course of the conspiracy, these individuals made numerous trips to Minnesota and Colorado to obtain methamphetamine. Firearms were routinely carried by Warnke, Bunch and Thoe to protect their product.
Bunch was previously sentenced to 27 years in federal prison, Tanner was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison and Hopkins was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
Drug trafficking is an inherently violent activity. Firearms are tools of the trade for drug dealers. It is common to find drug traffickers armed with guns in order to protect their illegal drug product and cash, and enforce their illegal operations.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone. This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws.
Warnke was immediately remanded to the custody of the US Marshals Service.
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