Eagle Butte Man Convicted by Federal Jury for Meth Trafficking

Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that Anthony Story, age 42, of Eagle Butte, South Dakota, was found guilty of Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance as a result of a two-day federal jury trial in Pierre, South Dakota. 

The conviction carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, and/or a $1,000,000 fine, a lifetime of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.  Restitution may also be ordered. 

Story was indicted by a federal grand jury on August 11, 2020.

The jury found that on August 14, 2019, Story knowingly possessed 37 grams of methamphetamine, with intent to distribute the drug.  Story was arrested while he was sleeping inside a camper in Eagle Butte next to a lightbulb fashioned into a pipe and a small bag holding the methamphetamine and a digital scale.  Law enforcement officers discovered Story and the methamphetamine while searching for another individual.  Plastic bags holding the methamphetamine were submitted to the South Dakota Forensic Laboratory for DNA testing.  The DNA profiles obtained from swabs of the plastic bags were found to match Story’s DNA profile.          

The investigation was conducted by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services, the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron J. Cook prosecuted the case.   

Sentencing was scheduled for August 2, 2021.  Story was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service after the jury announced its verdict.