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A jury trial has been scheduled for Feb. 23 in U.S. District Court in Fargo before Judge Peter Welte for some defendants whom authorities allege were part of a a drug trafficking ring that distributed oxycodone on the Fort Berthold, Turtle Mountain, and Spirit Lake reservations between 2015 and 2019. The ring also reportedly had ties to Detroit, Mich.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Fargo held a press conference on Thursday to discuss developments in “Operation Blue Prairie.”
Authorities allege that the ring leaders of the operation were Baquan Ramon Sledge Jr. and Darius Martese Sledge, who were each indicted for participaing in a continuing criminal enterprise. Directly under them in the operation were Derrick Eugene Walker and Dondiago Francisco Jones, both of whom are from Detroit and who, along with Baquan Sledge and Darius Sledge, were indicted for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Also in