Manderson Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court, has sentenced a Manderson, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance.

Anthony Tibbitts, age 40, was sentenced on August 2, 2024, to five years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.

Tibbitts was indicted by a federal grand jury in the summer of 2023, and pleaded guilty on April 19, 2024.

Tibbitts' conviction stemmed from his involvement in a large-scale methamphetamine distribution operation in Rapid City, South Dakota, and on the Pine Ridge Reservation. During this conspiracy, Richard Glover and his significant other, Teresa Goodroad, were the source of supply for Mark Bond and Todd Pape in South Dakota. Bond and Pape would make trips to Colorado to pick up pounds of methamphetamine from Goodroad and Glover. Other times Goodroad and Glover would deliver the drugs to Bond and Pape in South Dakota. Once the drugs were in South Dakota they would be brought to various homes on the Pine Ridge Reservation, including Tibbitts', where they would be further distributed by multiple individuals, including Tibbitts, Marlena Pond, Chris Janis, Tessie LaForge, Tyler LaForge, and others. All told, between 15 and 45 kilograms of methamphetamine was distributed during the course of this criminal enterprise.

Glover, Goodroad, Bond, Pape, Pond, Janis, and Tessie LaForge were sentenced earlier this summer. Glover received a sentence of 17 years and six months in prison; Goodroad received a sentence of 17 years and six months in prison; Bond received a sentence of 26 years and eight months in prison; Pape received a sentence of 25 years in prison; Pond received a sentence of six years in prison; Janis received a sentence of six years in prison; and Tessie LaForge received a sentence of two years and six months in prison. Tyler LaForge is set for sentencing later this summer.

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. Attorneys Meghan N. Dilges and Edward Tarbay prosecuted the case.

Tibbitts was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service following his sentencing.