RAPID CITY, S.D. — A Denver woman has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for her role in a large-scale conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in the Rapid City area and on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

Prosecutors say 34-year-old Shelina Martinez helped transport meth from Denver to South Dakota between January 2022 and February 2024. Martinez occasionally assisted with moving the drugs, which were distributed in and around Rapid City and Pine Ridge.

She was indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2024 on a charge of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and pleaded guilty in May 2025.

The investigation involved multiple agencies, including the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Rapid City Police Department, South Dakota Highway Patrol, Wyoming Highway Patrol, and the North Metro Denver Drug Task Force.

According to the South Dakota Department of Health, methamphetamine was the leading stimulant involved in overdose deaths in the state from 2020 to 2023, while fentanyl was the most common opioid.