South Dakota Man Sentenced for Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute After Arrest in Merrick County

United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Harley Degroat, 45, of Brookings, South Dakota, was sentenced on July 31, 2024, in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.  Senior United States District Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Degroat to 192 months’ imprisonment with a 10-year term of supervised release to follow. There is no parole in the federal system. Degroat was found to be a career offender under federal law, and his sentence was enhanced due to a 2019 conviction for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in the District of Wyoming.

On October 3, 2020, a Merrick County Sheriff’s deputy stopped a driver for speeding along Highway 30 in Merrick County. Degroat was driving and a female was in the front passenger seat. The deputy learned that Degroat had an active arrest warrant out of Pottawattamie County, Iowa for violating probation.  The deputy arrested Degroat on the warrant. Degroat and his passenger gave conflicting information about their travel plans. A drug dog alerted and indicated to the presence of narcotics in Degroat’s car. Investigators searched the car, locating a black case near the engine compartment containing bags of meth, heroin, THC cartridges, marijuana, and a black Ruger .380 firearm. An analyst from the Nebraska State Patrol Crime Lab confirmed the presence of about three pounds of meth and a half-ounce of heroin. 

This case was investigated by the Merrick County Sheriff’s Office and the Trident Drug Task Force, which is made up of officers from the Grand Island Police Department, Hall County Sheriff, Hastings Police Department, Adams County Sheriff, Kearney Police Department, Buffalo County Sheriff, Nebraska State Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.