A man from Kyle, South Dakota, has been sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison for his involvement in a drug distribution conspiracy that operated on the Pine Ridge Reservation and in Rapid City. U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier handed down the sentence to Nathan Tobacco-Clifford, 49, on September 19, 2025.
Tobacco-Clifford received a sentence of five years and ten months in federal prison. After serving his prison term, he will be subject to five years of supervised release and must pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
He was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2024 on charges of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance and pleaded guilty on April 23, 2025.
According to court documents, Tobacco-Clifford’s conviction is related to the distribution of methamphetamine within the Pine Ridge Reservation and Rapid City. Investigators determined that he and several codefendants traveled from Pine Ridge Reservation to Greeley, Colorado, where they obtained methamphetamine from Misty Hornbeck, another codefendant. The group attempted to transport methamphetamine back into South Dakota but were arrested in Scottsbluff, Nebraska while en route. Authorities estimate that between 500 grams and 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine were distributed during this period.
Each participant in the conspiracy sold methamphetamine primarily to support their own drug use.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Badlands Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force. This task force includes agents from multiple agencies: FBI, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Bureau of Indian Affairs Division of Drug Enforcement, and Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Knox prosecuted the case.
Following sentencing, Tobacco-Clifford was immediately remanded into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.
