Wind River Tribal Judge Pleads Guilty to Drug Distribution

The chief judge of the Wind River Indian Reservation's tribal court pleaded guilty to two drug distribution crimes during a hearing in federal court in Cheyenne on Tuesday.

Terri Smith pleaded guilty to single counts of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and distribution of cocaine, according to minutes of the hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Alan Johnson.

The Wyoming U.S. Attorney's Office will dismiss one count of using a communication facility to commit a drug felony at her sentencing. She faces up to 40 years imprisonment and up to 12 years of supervised release, according to federal sentencing guidelines.

Smith, an enrolled member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, initially was charged in March with using a phone to send text messages to distribute a controlled substance and distribution of cocaine. The federal grand jury handed down a superseding indictment in May with the oxycodone count.

She remains free on bond.

Smith's sister, Jerri Smith, also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone during a separate hearing on Tuesday. Jerri Smith also is accused of a different drug conspiracy with different defendants in another federal case, according to court records.

Both are free on bond. Both are scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 29.

Another defendant in the case, Thomas Brown, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone in July, and his sentence is scheduled for Sept. 24.