DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
District of South Dakota

For Immediate Release

Thursday, November 12, 2020
Ronald A. Parsons Jr.
, United States Attorney

Sioux Falls Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute Meth

United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance was sentenced on November 9, 2020, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.

Gabriel Orlando Ramirez, a/k/a “Cheech,” age 43, was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.

Ramirez was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 8, 2019. A federal jury found him guilty on July 23, 2020.

The conviction was the result of coordinated efforts of the Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force. “Cheech” Ramirez had been suspected of selling large quantities of methamphetamine in Sioux Falls as early as 2017. Through surveillance of Ramirez’s residence, law enforcement officers gathered information of suspected drug purchasers. In all, Gabriel “Cheech” Ramirez sold over 40 pounds of methamphetamine in Sioux Falls before he was arrested in May 2019.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office, the Sioux Falls Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the South Dakota Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer D. Mammenga and Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted the case.

Ramirez was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

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St. Paul Field Division