UPDATED 11:40 a.m.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – Twenty-six people face charges for crimes at the State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls.
Two of those people are accused of providing the illegal drugs that led to inmate deaths, according to South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley.
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In a news conference Tuesday, Jackley announced 24 inmates have been indicted on charges in connection to May 27 fights at the State Penitentiary that left 14 inmates injured. One of those inmates, Manarion Fuse, also faces charges for an overdose death of Anthony Richards in February 2025. Richards died of a K2 overdose, Jackley said.
According to court documents, 49-year-old Melibu Ross is facing charges of distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death. Ross is accused of giving inmate – Jason Garreau – meth and cocaine while she was visiting the prison. He died in May.
Ross was in court Tuesday morning. She’s in the Minnehaha County jail, being held on a $100,000 cash bond. Garreau, who was serving sentences for attempted first-degree murder from Hughes County, possession of a controlled substance by an inmate from Minnehaha County and a federal conviction for aggravated assault on law enforcement.
Jackley announced the indictments in a news conference Tuesday in Sioux Falls.
Here’s a list of inmates facing charges.
Manarion Fuse
Carlos Rivera Montes
Deaundrea Janis
Treysean Gunnoe
Montique Bickham
Adrian Lund (serving an 85 year sentence for stabbing and killing his girlfriend in Yankton in 2023.)
Shaun Valenzuela
Daniel Farmer
Hunter High Pipe
Luis Javier Perez Melendez (serving 75 year sentence for manslaughter. He shot and killed a 38 year old man (AdalbertoFerrer-Machado) in Mitchell in 2021)
Ethan Phillips
Ezekiel Two Dogs
Austin Esser
Mekohl Johnson
Dylan Brown
Trevor Cunningham
William Little (stabbed and killed 28-year-old Roseanne Eagleroad in Sioux Falls in 2020. Serving 40 years for manslaughter)
Bryce Spinks
Garrett Austin Dumarce
Elias Richard (serving a life sentence for 2nd degree murder. He Shot and killed Vernall Marshall in Rapid City on Christmas eve in 2020).
Lyric Hill
Cyruss Haag
Jonathan Denoyer
Cruz Deleon (serving 50 years in prison for shooting at a Pennington County sheriff’s deputy in an exchange of gunfire in 2017 in Box Elder.)
Enos Evans Horned Eagle
The 24 inmates are charged for May 27 riots and were indicted on either felony or misdemeanor charges including Aggravated Assault, Simple Assault and Rioting. The assaults resulted in 14 inmates injured and four were transported to local hospitals.
“In my view and based on the investigation we did, this was coordinated,” Jackley said on Tuesday. “… It’s somewhat targeted. I think that’s probably a fair interpretation of it.”
Jackley said Tuesday the riots included ties to gangs and he said the term ‘riot’ comes from a state law description. He said 30 inmates had gang affiliations to nine separate gangs, and it played a role in the short disturbance inside the prison.
“As a prosecutor and as a defense lawyer, there is a gang prevalence in the penitentiary,” Jackley said on Tuesday.
According to the South Dakota Department of Corrections, there have been 12 inmate deaths in state custody in 2025.
Jackley said two more inmate deaths- suspected drug overdoses- are still under investigation.
This is a developing story. KELOLAND News will have multiple reports regarding new charges for state prison overdose deaths and prison riots on air and online.
