A 58 year old Ridgeview, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance, Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises, Distribution to a Person Under Age Twenty-One, Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm, was sentenced in US District Court.
Jess Brian Ducheneaux was sentenced to 72 months in federal prison, followed by 12 years of supervised release, a $1,000 fine and forfeiture of two firearms.
A federal jury found that between January 2014 and December 2018, Ducheneaux knowingly conspired with others to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine on the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation. Ducheneaux received his methamphetamine from local dealers and from an individual who traveled to Colorado to acquire the drug. Further, the jury found Ducheneaux knowingly used his residence for the purposes of distributing and using methamphetamine. Ducheneaux repeatedly distributed methamphetamine to a person under 21 years of age and to several individuals who worked at his ranch.
The jury also found Ducheneaux guilty of possessing approximately six grams of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it and possessing two firearms while being a felon and a drug user. In December 2018, law enforcement officers went to Ducheneaux’s residence to arrest him on a federal warrant. After making contact with him, the officers observed drug paraphernalia and a firearm in plain view in the living room. The officers obtained a search warrant and seized the six grams of methamphetamine, a scale, pipes and numerous plastic baggies. They also recovered a rifle and a loaded shotgun from the residence. Ducheneaux was convicted of a felony offense in 2005 and was prohibited from possessing firearms.
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.
Ducheneaux was immediately remanded to the custody of the US Marshals Service.
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