Rapid City Man Sentenced on Drug Charge

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance. The sentencing took place on June 7, 2024.

Joseph “Jo Jo” Dowty, 33, was sentenced to two years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

In May of 2023, a federal grand jury indicted Dowty for Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person. Dowty pleaded guilty on March 15, 2024.

On April 4, 2023, police officers with the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety were actively searching for Dowty due to an arrest warrant Dowty had for absconding from state parole on his 2018 felony manslaughter conviction out of Pennington County, South Dakota.  When officers arrested Dowty, he was carrying a Ruger Wrangler .22 caliber revolver and more than 11 grams of methamphetamine, which had been broken down into 49 separate packages.

This case was investigated by the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Knox prosecuted the case.

Dowty was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.