Blog

Jun 06, 2023

District of South Dakota

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey L. Viken has sentenced a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy to

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey L. Viken has sentenced a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance (fentanyl). The sentencing took place on August 10, 2023.

Phillip Moore, 33, was sentenced to 12 years and six months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Moore was indicted for Distribution of a Controlled Substance Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury by a federal grand jury in October of 2021. He pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance on May 5, 2023.

Beginning in 2021, Moore coordinated with other persons to bring fentanyl in the form of small blue pills from Arizona to South Dakota for distribution. Once the fentanyl arrived in the Rapid City area, Moore worked with others to disperse the fentanyl. On October 15, 2021, a local Rapid City man purchased fentanyl from a batch of fentanyl that had been brought into Rapid City as part of Moore’s conspiracy. The man overdosed and CPR and NARCAN were administered to revive him.

This case was investigated by the local Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team (UNET) and the federal Drug Enforcement Agency. UNET is comprised of law enforcement from the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Rapid City Police Department, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the South Dakota Highway Patrol, and the South Dakota National Guard. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gina Nelson prosecuted the case.

Moore was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.