RAPID CITY, S.D. (KELO) –Two men were sentenced for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance in Rapid City and the Black Hills.

Jose Arguello, 37, of Rapid City, South Dakota, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison and Fernando Valenzuela, 41, of Phoenix, Arizona, was sentenced to 11 years and three months in federal prison.

In July 2020, methamphetamine was trafficked into South Dakota from Arizona and Mexico through coordination by Jose Arguello, Fernando Valenzuela, and several other
persons.

Arguello was the lead organizer of the conspiracy and recruited and coordinated others to send money packages through the U.S. Postal Service, UPS, and other mail carriers to various locations. The money sent was to obtain large volumes of meth. When the bulk quantities of meth arrived in the Rapid City area, Arguello divided and packaged it and dispersed it to multiple secondary distributors for further distribution in the Black Hills area.

Some members of the conspiracy, including Kevin Dunn, expanded the group’s meth trafficking activities to North Dakota. Dunn was previously sentenced to 20 years in prison in January of 2023.