Sioux Empire Today

United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell has announced the sentencing of Tyler Laforge, a 45-year-old man from Manderson, South Dakota. U.S. District Court Judge Karen E. Schreier sentenced Laforge to four years and nine months in federal prison, with an additional three years of supervised release.

Laforge was indicted by a federal grand jury in June 2023 and pleaded guilty on June 24, 2024. His conviction is linked to his participation in a methamphetamine distribution network operating in Rapid City, South Dakota, and the Pine Ridge Reservation. The operation involved multiple individuals, including Richard Glover and Teresa Goodroad, who supplied methamphetamine to Mark Bond and Todd Pape in South Dakota. Bond and Pape would travel to Colorado to obtain drugs from Goodroad and Glover or receive deliveries from them in South Dakota.

Once the methamphetamine reached South Dakota, it was distributed across the Pine Ridge Reservation by several individuals including Laforge, Marlena Pond, Chris Janis, Tessie Laforge, among others. The operation distributed between 15 and 45 kilograms of methamphetamine.

Earlier this summer, other key figures involved received sentences as follows:

- Mark Bond: 26 years and eight months

- Todd Pape: 25 years

- Richard Glover: 17 years and six months

- Teresa Goodroad: 17 years and six months

- Marlena Pond: six years

- Chris Janis: six years

- Tessie Laforge: two years and six months

The investigation was conducted by the Badlands Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force. This task force includes 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. Attorneys Meghan N. Dilges and Edward Tarbay prosecuted the case.

Following his sentencing, Tyler Laforge was immediately placed into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.