Ron Parsons, US attorney for the District of South Dakota addressed a somber crowd to deliver the news that they're ramping up their search for drug dealers that make a sale resulting in overdose deaths. He says drug use is at one of the deadliest crisis points in history. Over age 50, drugs are the leading cause of death in the United States, a new trend in the last five years.

Much of the addiction is driven by opioids, including Fentanyl. Even a small amount can result in death. In 2016, 67 South Dakotans died of drug overdoses, half from opioid poisoning.  Parsons says the number is growing. In Sioux Falls alone, three heroin and or fentanyl deaths have occured in  recent weeks.

Parsons describes the federal law in laymen's terms.  A 21 year sentence awaits someone who provides opioids that result in an overdose death.

Based on that law, a Rockford, Illinois woman has been charged with distribution of heroin in South Dakota. Stephanie Brecker, 26, has been charged for selling heroin that resulted in death of a man in Miner County. The user, identified in court documents as KP, was found dead of an overdose at his rural Miner County residence on Nov 19, 2017. The sale was distributed by mail.

Brecker was arrested last week in Illinois and is currently in custody of US Marshall’s service. Brecker will be transported to South Dakota to face the indictment and is considered innocent unless proven guilty.

Parsons warns that every point of sale drug location is considered a crime scene.


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