Mission Man Sentenced on Cocaine and Firearm Charges
SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that a Mission, South Dakota man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine, Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm, and Failure to Appear was sentenced on September 23, 2022, by Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court.
Blade Ryan Marshall, 25, was sentenced to 10 years and 10 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, a $1,000 fine, and ordered to pay a $300 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Marshall was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm by a federal grand jury in October of 2020. Marshall was released on bond and then failed to appear for his jury trial in January of 2022. Marshall was indicted for Failure to Appear by a federal grand jury in February 2022. He pleaded guilty to all the offenses on June 21, 2022.
From January 2017 to March 2018, Marshall was involved in a conspiracy with at least seven other individuals to distribute cocaine, marijuana, and other drugs Marshall received in Colorado to individuals on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation. As part of that conspiracy Marshall possessed firearms. Being a drug user, Marshall was prohibited from possessing firearms.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was investigated by Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges prosecuted the case.
Marshall was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
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