RAPID CITY, S.D. – A Rapid City, South Dakota man has been sentenced to more than 33 years in prison for distributing large amounts of fentanyl and heroin. Cory Croyle, 37, was convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance after admitting to trafficking between under a pound to 2.5 pounds of fentanyl into the state. This amount of fentanyl has the potential to kill hundreds of thousands of people, with just two milligrams of the substance being deadly to an average adult, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“In sentencing Croyle, Judge Schreier noted the conspiracy involved one of the larger quantities of drugs she has seen in her decades on the bench,” a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of South Dakota reads.
The conspiracy led to the death of a community member, and the judge also noted that Croyle knew the deadly risks of distributing fentanyl, yet he continued to sell the drug, even though he was on state parole at the time of the offense.
Croyle was arrested in July 2023 during a traffic stop in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska. According to court documents, a K9 helped law enforcement find 1428 fentanyl pills in the vehicle Croyle was inside, along with two notebooks with lists of names and amounts of money owed. One list was titled, ‘Bitch you owe.’ Croyle had been traveling with two others from Colorado to Rapid City.
In addition to the federal prison sentence, Croyle will spend five years on supervised release and has been ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
