Pine Ridge Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana

U.S. Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Albert Broken Rope, age 27, of Pine Ridge, appeared before Chief U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier on November 2, 2009, and pled guilty to Count II of an indictment that charged him with Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana. The mandatory minium and maximum penalty upon conviction is 5 to 40 years imprisonment and a $2,000,000 fine, or both. Broken Rope pled guilty to conspiring with others to distribute marijuana on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mara M. Kohn. A presentence investigation was ordered, and a sentencing date was set for February 1, 2010. The defendant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshal pending sentencing.