Michigan man faces fentanyl distribution charges in Sioux County (2024)

A Detroit-area manwas recentlyarrestedfor allegedly distributing fentanyl and meth on the Standing Rock Reservation in south-central North Dakota, authorities said.

Antoine Cross, 22, of East Pointe, Michigan, isbeing held at the Burleigh Morton Detention Center,facing charges of possession with intent to manufacture or distribute fentanyl and conspiracy to deliver fentanyl. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000.

A judge on Tuesday set his bond at $25,000 cash, with defense attorney Omid Kardoust appointed as counsel.

Officers with the Metro Area Narcotics Task Force, working in cooperation with tribal law enforcement, served a federal search warrant on an address in Sioux County. The warrant was related to the distribution of controlled substances and involved confidential informants conducting controlled buys of illegal substances,according to an affidavit.

The investigation led officers to a Cannonball address, identified in the affidavit as the known residence of a woman named Donette Fasthorse.

Officers entered the residence and encountered Fasthorse and two others, who were immediately detained. Fasthorse told officers a person known as "Cap" was also inside, according to the affidavit. The person was later identified as Cross, who also was detained.

When officers searched the residence, they allegedly found 50 pills suspected of containing fentanyl on the floor of the hallway and a bathroom, according to the affidavit. More suspected fentanyl pills were also allegedly discovered in a toilet. Investigators removed the toilet from the floor and allegedly recovered more suspected fentanyl pills packed inside small plastic bags.

Officers searching a bedroom within the residence allegedly discovered a backpack containing Cross's Michigan identification, an airline boarding pass and an Apple iPhone investigators determined belonged to Cross. They also said they found an open safe containing more than $1,000 in U.S. currency and an undisclosed number of plastic bags containing more suspected fentanyl pills.

The recovered iPhone was then examined in accordance with the search warrant. The searchallegedly revealed communications between Cross and multiple people, both out of state and in North Dakota,regarding the alleged sale of drugs,withCannonball being usedas a distribution hub.

Fasthorse allegedly admitted to officers thatshe was hosting Cross at her Cannonball residence in exchange for drugs.Court records do not indicatethat Fasthorse or any of the other people present in her home at the time of the search warrant's execution were arrested or charged.

A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Oct. 21.

Sioux County State's Attorney Chris Redmann described the arrest as"an exemplary example of the close working relationship between multiple state, county, federal and tribal agencies to disrupt and deter individuals who come from large cities with the specific purpose to exploit rural North Dakotans who live in and around Sioux County."

"We are seeing a strong influx of fentanyl from major metropolitan areas by nefarious individuals who see rural North Dakota as a soft target to distribute a very dangerous drug," Redmann continued.

The perception that rural North Dakota and Native communities are "soft targets" is something Attorney General Drew Wrigley addressed last week during his annual review of crime statistics. Wrigley commended a 2023 legislative appropriation that allowed the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation to hire more agents with the express purpose of stationing those agents near Native communities to bolster local agencies and tribal law enforcement.

"Our brothers and sisters on the reservations have every right to safety that we have off the reservation," Wrigley said. "And that's what our quest is: to provide that."

Since taking office as attorney general, Wrigley said, his office and BCI have placed agents adjacent to all but one of the reservations that share geography with North Dakota.