SEPTEMBER 2023:
United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court, has sentenced a Rapid City man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance.
Eugene Perez, 44, was sentenced to 11 years and five months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
The charge stems from Perez conspiring with others to distribute multiple pounds of methamphetamine in and around Rapid City between January 2018 and December 2021.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team, Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, South Dakota Department of Criminal Investigation, and the South Dakota Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson prosecuted the case.
Perez was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
SEPTEMBER 2022:
A 33 year old woman from Rapid City convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance has been given her punishment by a federal court judge.
Amber Ashlin was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
The conviction stems from Ashlin conspiring with others to distribute multiple pounds of methamphetamine in and around Rapid City between January 2018 and December 2021.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team, the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, the South Dakota Department of Criminal Investigation, and the South Dakota Highway Patrol.
FEBRUARY 2022:
A federal jury has indicted two Rapid City for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person.
Amber Ashlin, age 33, and Eugene Perez, age 42, each pled not guilty.
The charge stems from Ashlin and Perez conspiring with each other and others to distribute methamphetamine in Deadwood and Rapid City between January 2018 and December 2021. Both are previously convicted felons who are prohibited from possessing firearms and were illegally in possession of semi-automatic pistols in September 2021.
The penalty upon conviction is a mandatory minimum of ten years up to life in federal prison and/or a $10,000,000 fine, three years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, 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.
The investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team (UNET), which is comprised of law enforcement from the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Rapid City Police Department, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, and the South Dakota National Guard. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson is prosecuting the case.
Ashlin and Perez were detained pending trial.
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