Sioux Empire Today

United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that District Court Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced Ubaldo Balderrama-Marquez from Chihuahua, Mexico, for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. The sentencing took place on July 11, 2025.

Balderrama-Marquez, aged 59, received a sentence of three years and one month in federal prison. This will be followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

The defendant was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2006 and pleaded guilty on April 11, 2025. His conviction is linked to a conspiracy involving the distribution of cocaine based in Denver, Colorado. Alongside his brothers Jose Balderrama-Marquez, Miguel Balderrama-Marquez, and Rafael Balderrama-Marquez, he sold significant quantities of cocaine and marijuana for further distribution in South Dakota and the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

The investigation was conducted by the Badlands Safe Trails Task Force. This task force includes agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, officers from the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety, and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward C. Tarbay prosecuted the case.

Following his sentencing, Balderrama-Marquez was immediately placed into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.