Native American man used by Noem as alleged proof of cartel presence takes plea deal in drug case

Charles Merrival (Photo courtesy Merrival family)

RAPID CITY – Nearly two months after Gov. Kristi Noem used a photo of him as alleged proof that cartels have overrun tribal communities, a Rapid City man accepted a plea deal this week to a drug conspiracy charge.

Charles Cain Merrival, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, has been jailed in Rapid City for two and a half years and has only been free from jail for a few months since 2020, court records show.

Noem flashed a photo of Merrival during a May 17 press conference in Pierre, at which she repeated claims that cartel members are selling drugs and trafficking people on Native American reservations in the state. The photo showed Merrival in a jacket emblazoned with references to motorcycle gangs.

When contacted by South Dakota Searchlight about Noem’s use of his photo, Merrival denied having any connection to drug cartels. He said he hadn’t been to Pine Ridge for years, that the photo Noem used was taken at a mall in Rapid City, and that the governor’s actions “destroyed my ability to get a fair trial” in a federal drug trafficking case.

His mother, Darla Merrival, told South Dakota Searchlight she believes the governor chose to make an example of her son because he’s a tribal member.

Noem’s office did not respond to questions from South Dakota Searchlight about her use of Merrival’s photo prior to the publication of a June 12 story on his case. Spokesman Ian Fury did not reply to messages Tuesday seeking comment for this story.

On Monday, Charles Merrival took a deal and pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and saw his remaining charges, for distribution of a controlled substance and being a felon in possession of a firearm, dismissed.

A factual basis statement filed Monday and signed by Merrival says he voluntarily joined a conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine in the Rapid City area, and that he’d flashed a firearm in January of 2022 “in furtherance of the drug distribution conspiracy.”

The conspiracy charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison. There is no parole in the federal prison system. Merrival’s plea deal stipulates an eight year sentence.

His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 4 in Rapid City.

In a text sent to South Dakota Searchlight through a jailhouse service provider, Merrival said prosecutors had filed what he described as a gag order that would have prevented his attorney from asking jurors about the media coverage surrounding Noem’s cartel claims.

“There was no way I was going to win,” Merrival wrote. “Especially with them tying my hands about being able to ask jurors if they’d seen the press.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, which is prosecuting the case, filed a “motion in limine” and a document supporting the motion on July 2. A motion in limine is meant to prevent or limit the use of certain arguments or evidence in a trial. The documents that would explain what prosecutors had hoped to limit at trial were sealed by a judge at the government’s request.