Agency Village Man Sentenced to 21 Years in Federal Prison for Distribution of a Controlled Substance Resulting in Death

SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann has sentenced a man from Agency Village, South Dakota, convicted of Distribution of a Controlled Substance Resulting in Death. The sentencing took place June 1, 2026.

Canaan Renville, 27, was sentenced to 21 years and 10 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.

Renville was indicted for of Distribution of a Controlled Substance Resulting in Death by a federal grand jury in May 2025. He pleaded guilty on November 17, 2025.

On October 9, 2024, law enforcement responded to a residence in Sisseton, where they found a deceased male victim in the living room of his apartment. Near the victim's body was a small piece of aluminum foil with trace amounts of fentanyl powder. An autopsy confirmed the victim's cause of death as fentanyl toxicity. A search of the victim's cell phone revealed a series of messages between him and Renville indicating that the victim had been purchasing fentanyl from Renville. The messages showed that the victim had purchased fentanyl from Renville only hours before his death. Investigators executed a search warrant on Renville's residence and found both fentanyl pills and fentanyl powder. Renville admitted selling the fentanyl powder to the victim that resulted in the overdose and death.

"At the Bureau of Indian Affairs Division of Drug Enforcement, we depend on strong partnerships to confront the fentanyl crisis," said Deputy Associate Director Tom Atkinson. "The significant sentence in this case reflects the deadly harm caused by fentanyl and highlights our outstanding partnerships with the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation and the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Tribe."

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the FBI, the Sisseton Police Department, and the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Tribal Law Enforcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Joyce prosecuted the case.

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