Sioux Falls Woman Sentenced for Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine

PIERRE - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte has sentenced a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, woman convicted of Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance. The sentencing took place on October 8, 2024.

Andrea Pitts, age 46, was sentenced to eight years and one month 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.

Pitts was indicted by a federal grand jury in the March of 2023. She pleaded guilty on July 10, 2024.

On November 24, 2022, Pitts and her co-defendant Jennifer Walsh were pulled over due to speeding on I-90 in Chamberlain, South Dakota. During the traffic stop a K-9 was called and alerted to the presence of drugs. A search of the vehicle revealed five pounds of methamphetamine in a hidden compartment. Pitts and Walsh were transporting the drugs from California to South Dakota where the methamphetamine would be distributed.

This case was investigated by the South Dakota Highway Patrol and the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges prosecuted the case.

Pitts was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service following her sentencing. Walsh was sentenced on September 23, 2024, to eight years and one month in federal prison.