California and South Dakota Women Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine through the Mail

SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Harrison, South Dakota, woman convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. The sentencing took place on April 15, 2024.

Anita M. Kenyon, 41, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Her co-conspirator, Deena Lee Rodriguez, 43, of Sacramento, California, was sentenced on May 25, 2023, to eight years and one month in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Kenyon and Rodriguez were indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury in August of 2022. Rodriguez pleaded guilty on March 14, 2023, and Kenyon pleaded guilty on July 19, 2023.

This conspiracy consisted of Rodriguez obtaining methamphetamine in California, then sending packages containing that methamphetamine in the mail to Kenyon in South Dakota. One of the suspicious drug-laden packages was seized by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and subsequently searched. Investigators learned that Kenyon and Rodriguez were involved in distributing approximately three quarters of a pound of methamphetamine in this manner.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Hodges prosecuted the case.

Kenyon and Rodriguez were immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service after their respective sentencings.