Arizona Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Supplying Fentanyl and 150 Pounds of Meth to Sioux Falls Trafficking Ring

Northeast Radio SD News – South Dakota - A Glendale, Arizona man has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for supplying fentanyl and more than 150 pounds of methamphetamine to a Sioux Falls‑area drug trafficking organization, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota.

U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier sentenced John Roth, 58, on Sept. 28 following his July conviction on two federal conspiracy charges: Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance – Methamphetamine and Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance – Fentanyl. Roth will also serve five years of supervised release and must pay a $200 special assessment.

Roth was indicted in October 2025 and found guilty after a three‑day trial earlier this summer. Evidence presented in court showed Roth acted as the Arizona‑based supplier for the Matthew Shade drug trafficking organization, providing cartel‑sourced fentanyl and methamphetamine that moved from Mexico into Arizona and then north to Sioux Falls.

According to prosecutors, more than 150 pounds of methamphetamine were delivered into the Sioux Falls region over roughly eight months in 2024 and early 2025. Other members of the conspiracy transported and sold the drugs locally.

“John Stanford Roth was a key part of the Matthew Shade drug trafficking organization, which funneled Cartel‑sourced fentanyl and methamphetamine in bulk quantities across the border from Mexico, into Arizona, and then up to Sioux Falls and the surrounding area,” U.S. Attorney Ron Parsons said in the release. “Of thirteen defendants in this conspiracy, he is one of the last to be sentenced.”

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office, and the Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Hodges and Connie Larson prosecuted the case.

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