Arizona man and woman found guilty of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance

 

Date: August 9, 2023

Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov

United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a jury has convicted Rusty James Driscoll and Shauna Marie Gross, both of Kingman, Arizona, of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance following a four-day jury trial in federal district court in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The verdict was returned on August 4, 2023.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in federal prison and/or a $10,000,000 fine, life of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Driscoll and Gross were indicted by a federal grand jury in March of 2022.

In 2022, Driscoll, Gross, and other co-conspirators agreed amongst themselves to distribute methamphetamine in South Dakota. In carrying out their conspiracy, Driscoll and Gross shipped multiple pounds of methamphetamine from Arizona to be redistributed in South Dakota. Methamphetamine is a Schedule II controlled substance.

This case was investigated by the IRS, the SD Division of Criminal Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Hodges prosecuted the case.

Presentence investigation reports were ordered and sentencing dates have not been set. The defendants were remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.