RAPID CITY, S.D. — The final defendant in a cocaine distribution conspiracy that stretched from Dallas, Texas, to Rapid City, South Dakota has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
Gerardo Escobar Balderas, 38, of Dallas, was sentenced for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and money laundering.
Escobar Balderas sent cocaine through the mail from Dallas to a person in Rapid City. The cocaine was then distributed by multiple people in the Rapid City area, while proceeds from the sales were sent back to Escobar Balderas through electronic cash transfers.
Investigators estimate Escobar Balderas distributed about 12 kilograms of cocaine to people in Rapid City during his involvement in the conspiracy.
Escobar Balderas was the eighth and final defendant sentenced in the case.
The other defendants and their sentences were:
- Omar Ornelas — 15 years
- Larissa Ross — 20 months
- Tyler Eagle Elk — 30 months
- Jeffrey Cooley — 30 months
- Kiana Pilcher — 35 months
- A’Aliyah Leclaire — 12 months
- Sesalie Red Owl — 24 months
Ornelas, Ross, Eagle Elk and Cooley worked together to distribute cocaine in the Rapid City area. Ornelas, Pilcher and Leclaire were involved in moving money generated by the drug conspiracy.
The case was investigated by the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation.
UNET includes law enforcement officers from the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Rapid City Police Department, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, South Dakota Highway Patrol and South Dakota National Guard.
