Man sentenced for coordinating semi truck shipments of meth to Sioux Falls as prison inmate

A California man was sentenced to more than two decades in prison for his role in a large-scale conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine using semi trucks that he took part in while he was imprisoned.

On November 3, 2025, Michael Thomas, 51, of Delano, California, was sentenced to  21 years in federal prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota.

Thomas pleaded guilty to a charge of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance on August 11, 2025.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office describes the scheme that led to the lengthy prison sentence for Thomas:

“Investigators with the FBI and Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office uncovered a large group of people selling methamphetamine and fentanyl around Sioux Falls in 2021 and 2022.  Investigators learned that Thomas, who was incarcerated in a prison in California at the time, worked with another inmate in the prison to coordinate large shipments of methamphetamine and fentanyl pills to Sioux Falls and other locations from California.  Thomas coordinated shipments as large as 100 pounds of methamphetamine at a time to Sioux Falls using semi trucks.  Investigators also learned that the drug trafficking organization run by Thomas and his co-conspirator in prison was operating in California, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, and West Virgina. Investigators believe that in total Thomas was responsible for organizing the shipment of 300-400 pounds of methamphetamine and over 100,000 pills containing fentanyl during his involvement in the conspiracy.  To date, 15 people have been convicted in South Dakota and sentenced to federal prison for their involvement in this scheme.“

Investigating agencies include the FBI, the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office, and the Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force.