Pine Ridge Man Convicted of Drug Trafficking

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. The sentencing took place on January 25, 2023.

Charles Schrader, 56, was sentenced to five years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Charles Schrader was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury in June of 2022. He pleaded guilty on September 23, 2022.

During his involvement in the conspiracy, Schrader obtained distributable quantities of methamphetamine from his sources and then would sell the methamphetamine, primarily on the Pine Ridge Reservation. He did so knowing that the methamphetamine he sold would be further distributed by others. During the sentencing, evidence was presented that at times Schrader possessed firearms in relation to his methamphetamine distribution.

This case was investigated by the Badlands Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, which is comprised of agents from the FBI, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Bureau of Indian Affairs Division of Drug Enforcement, Martin Police Department, Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety, and the Rapid City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gina S. Nelson prosecuted the case.

Schrader was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.