A Wyoming man and a Colorado woman who were apprehended a year ago outside the Wind River Indian Reservation were recently jailed for their roles in supplying and selling drugs to Native American tribes there.
In November 2023, authorities stopped Dusty Harris, 42, of Casper, Wyoming, and Thelma Faber, 45, of Greeley, in their automobile in Shoshoni, Wyoming. This comes after state criminal investigators and detectives from the Fremont County (Wyo.) Sheriff’s Office discovered Harris had previously sold controlled narcotics to enrolled members of the Eastern Shoshone and/or Northern Arapaho tribes living on or near the reservation. They also discovered Harris was making another delivery from Colorado.
Deputies found Harris driving the automobile. Faber sat in the passenger seat.
Inside the automobile, sheriff’s deputies discovered 94 grams of methamphetamine, 34 grams of fentanyl, a scale, and other drug paraphernalia.
Investigators later investigated the pair’s cell phones, discovering texts and social media messages tied to narcotics trafficking from the previous month.
Faber pled guilty in May to one count of possession with intent to distribute. In October, the judge sentenced her to 57 months in federal prison. The Wyoming federal court judge also strongly advised Faber, also known as Thelma Jones, to complete a residential drug dependency treatment while in prison. Furthermore, the judge ordered Faber to remain on supervised probation for four years after her release from prison. The case paperwork stipulates that Faber will undergo drug testing up to ten times a month for four years, in addition to receiving mental health therapy and vocational/educational training.
The Federal Corrections Institution (FCI) Phoenix is currently housing Faber.
Harris also pled guilty in May, but on additional charges. Harris received a sentence of 142 months’ imprisonment. According to court documents, Harris and his counsel are appealing his sentence. He is now based at FCI Leavenworth in Kansas.
The Wind River Reservation is home to more than 3,900 Eastern Shoshone and 8,600 Northern Arapaho tribal members. In 2020, the Northern Arapaho tribe announced a state of emergency due to the invasion of methamphetamine.
The issue is not new; a 2006 report from the National Congress of American Indians described the “devastation” of meth usage in all native areas.
“Native Americans now experience the highest meth usage rates of any ethnic group in the nation,” according to the analysis.
Federal agencies and courts are in charge of prosecuting offenses that occur on Native reservations and cross state lines.