SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — A Glendale, Arizona, man has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after a jury found he was a source of fentanyl and methamphetamine for a large drug trafficking organization operating in the Sioux Falls area.
John Stanford Roth, 58, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to distribute fentanyl following a three-day federal trial.
Evidence presented at trial showed Roth helped supply more than 150 pounds of methamphetamine to Sioux Falls for distribution in 2024 and early 2025. Prosecutors said the drugs were sourced from Mexico, transported through Arizona and then delivered to Sioux Falls and surrounding communities.
“John Stanford Roth was a key part of the Matthew Shade drug trafficking organization, which funneled cartel-sourced fentanyl and methamphetamine in bulk quantities across the border from Mexico, into Arizona, and then up to Sioux Falls and the surrounding area,” U.S. Attorney Ron Parsons said.
Shade, of Tea, South Dakota, was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison after being identified as the local leader of the drug trafficking organization.
Roth is one of 13 defendants prosecuted in connection with the conspiracy and is one of the last to be sentenced.
“In all likelihood, the fentanyl and methamphetamine seized from this criminal’s operation would have killed some people who are alive right now in Sioux Falls,” Parsons said. “This investigation, prosecution, and substantial federal prison sentence has given them another chance at life. I will never stop being grateful for that.”
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case in conjunction with the Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force.
