Martin Woman Pleads Guilty to Selling Controlled Substances in a School Zone
| U.S. Attorney’s Office October 25, 2012 |
United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Claudia Jeanine Apple, age 45, of Martin, South Dakota, appeared before United States District Judge Jeffrey L. Viken on October 24, 2012 and pled guilty to a federal charge of distribution of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school. The maximum penalty upon conviction is 40 years of imprisonment and a $2,000,000 fine.
On January 31, 2012, Apple distributed 15 Ritalin pills at Martin. The charge was a result of Operation Prairie Pharm, a controlled substances investigation conducted by the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, whose member agencies include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the South Dakota Highway Patrol, the Pierre Police Department, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe-Department of Public Safety. The Bennett County Sheriff’s Office and the Martin Police Department also assisted in the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Laura Shattuck.
A presentence investigation was ordered, and a sentencing date was set for March 1, 2013. The defendant was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.