United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced on March 24 that Bessie Rose Brewer, a resident of Pine Ridge, was sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. The sentencing was carried out by District Judge Camela C. Theeler on March 9.
Brewer, age 33, will also serve three years of supervised release for the conspiracy charge. This sentence will run concurrently with her three-year sentence for the firearms possession charge.
According to prosecutors, Brewer was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2025 for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Additional charges were filed in November 2025, including conspiracy to distribute cocaine and further firearms violations. Brewer pleaded guilty to both charges on November 17, 2025.
The case stems from an incident in January 2025 when law enforcement conducted a traffic stop involving Brewer. Officers found and seized a pistol from her jacket pocket and discovered cocaine inside the vehicle. Investigators later determined that Brewer had been obtaining cocaine from others and selling it within the Pine Ridge Reservation.
This prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America, which coordinates Department of Justice resources against illegal immigration, drug cartels, transnational criminal organizations, and violent crime through programs such as the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The investigation involved multiple agencies through the Badlands Safe Trails Task Force: the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and Bureau of Indian Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward C. Tarbay handled prosecution duties. Following sentencing, Brewer was remanded into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.
