SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Glendale, Arizona, man convicted Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance – Methamphetamine and Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance – Fentanyl. The sentencing took place on September 28, 2026. John Roth, 58, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Roth was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury in October 2025. He was convicted after a three-day trial on July 8, 2026.
Evidence at trial showed Roth was the Arizona-based source for a Sioux Falls drug trafficking organization, providing fentanyl and methamphetamine from Mexico through Arizona to Sioux Falls and the surrounding area. Roth provided the drugs while other members of the conspiracy transported and sold them. The evidence revealed more than 150 pounds of methamphetamine was delivered to Sioux Falls for sale within approximately eight months in 2024 and early 2025.
“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,” said U.S. Attorney Parsons. “Of thirteen defendants in this conspiracy, he is one of the last to be sentenced. The methodical takedown of the Shade organization is the result of incredible work by our federal prosecutors and the Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force.”
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Investigation Service and the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with the Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Hodges and Connie Larson prosecuted the case. Roth was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.