Pine Ridge Woman Sentenced to 19 Years in Federal Prison for Her Leading Role in a Methamphetamine Distribution Conspiracy in Pine Ridge and Rapid City

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a woman from Pine Ridge, South Dakota, convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. The sentencing took place on September 19, 2025.

Kealey Twiss, 32, was sentenced to 19 years and two months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Twiss was indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2024 for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. She pleaded guilty on June 9, 2025.

The investigation revealed that Twiss and others distributed significant amounts of methamphetamine in Pine Ridge and Rapid City. Twiss was a leader in the conspiracy. Her role included setting prices, organizing the distribution, and engaging in interstate trips to obtain methamphetamine for further distribution in South Dakota. In sentencing Twiss to 230 months in prison, Judge Schreier denounced the terrible impact methamphetamine has on the Pine Ridge community.

This case was investigated by Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Lindrooth prosecuted the case.

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