United States Attorney Alison Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Viken has sentenced a Platte, South Dakota, woman convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance.
The sentencing took place on July 17, 2023.
67-year-old Vonda Hand was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Hand was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance (methamphetamine) by a federal grand jury in February of 2023. She pleaded guilty on April 14, 2023.
Between October of 2022 and February of 2023, Hand made arrangements to obtain meth in Arizona. She traveled there to pick it up, recruiting others to assist her, and then dispersed the drug to others in South Dakota.
She knew that people in South Dakota were going to further distribute the substance.
Overall, Hand was responsible for distributing between 5 and 15 kilograms of meth during the conspiracy.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, South Dakota Highway Patrol, and the Platte Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Rich prosecuted the case.
Hand was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.