Watertown Man Found Guilty of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance

SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a jury has convicted Heath Kelvin Hagen, age 37, of Watertown, South Dakota of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance following a three-day jury trial in federal district court in Aberdeen. The verdict was returned on August 1, 2024.

The charges carry a penalty of a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in custody and/or a $10,000,000 fine, a mandatory minimum of five years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Hagen was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2023.

Hagen was part of a group of people who trafficked thousands of pills in the Northeastern part of South Dakota. Hagen obtained the pills from Minneapolis and redistributed them to others primarily in Watertown and Sisseton. Witnesses identified Hagen as the biggest fentanyl dealer in Watertown for a period of time in early 2022.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Hodges and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Joyce prosecuted the case.

A presentence investigation was ordered and a sentencing date was set for October 21, 2024. The defendant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.