Rapid City woman sentenced to 20 years for meth trafficking

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Viken handed down the sentence to Aynjel Schumacher, 27, on May 10 in Rapid City federal court. Schumacher's 20-year sentence will be followed by five years of supervised release.

According to a news release from U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell, Schumacher was indicted for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance by a federal grand jury on June 11, 2020. She pleaded guilty on Dec. 9, 2020.

Schumacher was responsible for distributing between 15 and 45 kilograms of methamphetamine in western South Dakota. She admitted to bringing the drug from Nebraska and recruited others to transport the methamphetamine for her between September 2019 and April 2020.

Schumacher also admitted to arranging for people to transport bulk cash as payment for the methamphetamine and to send money to the supplier via currency services such as Western Union. Schumacher possessed firearms on numerous occasions during the conspiracy and used a firearm to threaten a co-conspirator, Ramsdell said.

At the time she was leading the conspiracy, Schumacher was on parole with the state of South Dakota. Others charged in the conspiracy have trial and sentencing dates pending, Ramsdell said.

This case was investigated by the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team, Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. UNET is comprised of law enforcement from the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Rapid City Police Department, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, South Dakota National Guard, and the South Dakota Highway Patrol.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn N. Rich prosecuted the case. Schumacher was immediately returned to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.