A jury has convicted Curtis Cummings, 39, of Rapid City, South Dakota, of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance resulting in death following a three-day jury trial in federal district court in Rapid City.
The verdict was returned on November 7, 2024.
The charges carry a mandatory minimum of 20 years up to life in custody and/or a $10,000,000 fine, five years up to life of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the federal crime victims fund.
Restitution may also be ordered.
A federal grand jury indicted Cummings in June of 2023.
Cummings was part of a large-scale distribution of fentanyl in the Rapid City area from December 2021 through June 2023. Cummings and others travelled to Colorado on a weekly basis to obtain significant quantities of fentanyl pills.
When they returned to Rapid City, Cummings distributed the fentanyl pills from his home.
During the course of the conspiracy, fentanyl pills distributed by Cummings, and others working for him, were consumed by an individual on April 26, 2022, resulting in the overdose death of that individual.