Pine Ridge Woman Sentenced for Drug Trafficking

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Viken has sentenced a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, woman convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. The sentencing took place on January 30, 2023.

Misty Bradford, 48, was sentenced to 15 years and eight 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. She also forfeited $23,979.00.

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

Bradford obtained methamphetamine and distributed it to others for use and further distribution in the Pine Ridge area. In June of 2022, a search warrant was executed at Bradford’s residence in Pine Ridge. Drug paraphernalia and two safes were discovered. One of the safes contained multiple bags of methamphetamine totaling 1.53 kilograms and $23,979.00 in cash. Bradford and others were responsible for distributing between 1.5 and 5 kilograms of methamphetamine during the course of the conspiracy.

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, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn N. Rich prosecuted the case.

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