Lennox Woman Sentenced to 7 Years in Federal Prison for Conspiring to Distribute Methamphetamine in the Sioux Falls Area

SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court, has sentenced a Lennox, South Dakota woman convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. The sentencing took place on January 26, 2026.

Ashley Mortimer, 39, was sentenced to 92 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, fine, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Mortimer was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury in November 2024. She pleaded guilty on October 14, 2025.

For several months in early 2024, Mortimer operated as a sub-distributor for a California-based drug trafficking organization operating in the Sioux Falls area. Mortimer purchased large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl from the organization, which she then re-sold. At sentencing, Mortimer was attributed to distributing more than 500 grams of methamphetamine.

This case was investigated by the DEA, the. U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Joyce prosecuted the case.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

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