Federal judges have sentenced two men, convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance.
Jose Arguello, 37, of Rapid City, South Dakota, was sentenced to 25 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. Arguello was sentenced by Judge Viken.
Fernando Valenzuela, 41, of Phoenix, Arizona, was sentenced to 11 years and three 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. Valenzuela was sentenced by Judge Schreier.
Beginning around July 2020, methamphetamine was trafficked into South Dakota from Arizona and Mexico through coordination by Jose Arguello, Fernando Valenzuela, and several other persons. Arguello served as lead organizer of the conspiracy and recruited and coordinated others to send money packages through the U.S. Postal Service, UPS, and other mail carriers. At times, money was also wired to various locations. All of the money sent was to obtain large volumes of methamphetamine. When the bulk quantities of methamphetamine arrived in the Rapid City area, Arguello divided and packaged it and dispersed it to multiple sub-distributors for further distribution in the Black Hills. Some members of the conspiracy, including Kevin Dunn, expanded the group’s methamphetamine trafficking activities to North Dakota. Dunn was previously sentenced to 20 years in prison in January of 2023, by Judge Viken.
In addition to the large volume of methamphetamine that was distributed through the course of this conspiracy, multiple firearms were also possessed in furtherance of the conspiracy.
In total, four members of the conspiracy have been sentenced, three have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing, one still has a pending warrant, and one is set for a trial at the end of August of 2023.
This case was investigated by the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team (UNET), the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. UNET is comprised of law enforcement from the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Rapid City Police
Department, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, South Dakota Highway Patrol, and the South Dakota National Guard. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gina S. Nelson prosecuted the case.
Comments