As reported by KTWO-AM, federal prosecutors have charged Chief Judge Terri Smith from the Wind River Indian Reservation with two felonies.
Smith is accused of sending text messages to distribute a controlled substance, and of distributing cocaine.
Smith pleaded not guilty to the charges during her initial hearing in Lander on Wednesday.
She was released on a $25,000 bond. Smith is due back in court before U.S. District Court Judge Alan Johnson in Cheyenne on June 3rd.
Allegations suggest Smith had sent three text messages on April 28, 2018 about selling oxycodone pills and cocaine.
Distribution of cocaine is punishable by up to 10 years of imprisonment. Conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance is punishable by up to 4 years of imprisonment. They are both considered felonies.
The Wind River Tribal Court’s website shows that Smith was born in Fremont County and graduated from the University of Utah Law School in 2010.
She began as a Chief Judge of the Wind River Tribal Court in January 2018.
