Additional Charges In Drug Investigation

United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that three additional people have been charged in an indictment involving controlled substance analogues. A federal grand jury handed down the indictment on January 8, 2013.

Lamonte Christopher Johnson, Jr., aka "Chris," age 43, and Renee Sue Johnson, age 40, both of Canton, were each charged with one count of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance Analogue and one count of Money Laundering.  Edward Lewis Vandeuren, aka “Edward Lewis Vandeuren, III,” age 62, of Sioux Falls, is charged with one count of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance Analogue.

All three of the defendants appeared before US Magistrate Judge John E. Simko on January 9, 2013, and pled not guilty to the indictment.  The maximum penalty upon conviction of the drug charge is 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.  The maximum penalty on the money laundering charge is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  The charges are merely accusations, and Lamonte Christopher Johnson, Jr., Renee Johnson, and Vandeuren are all presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The indictment relates to an ongoing investigation involving the Roll With It stores in Sioux Falls.

Previously indicted individuals in this investigation, Corey Brandon Morrison, Gwen Arlene Pike, and Andrea Jean Anderson, all from Sioux Falls, and Thomas Patrick Harms and Cynthia Renee Harms, both of Luverne, Minnesota, made their initial court appearance on October 12, 2012.  They all pled not guilty and are awaiting trial.

The investigation is being conducted by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force.  United States Attorney Brendan Johnson and Assistant US Attorney John E. Haak are prosecuting the case.  All defendants were released on conditions pending trial.  A trial date has not yet been set.