Man Goes to Prison over Drug Distribution to Wisconsin Tribal Communities

A man who was arrested for suspicion of distribution of drugs to Menominee and Ho-Chunk Tribal Communities in Wisconsin was recently sentenced to more than ten years in prison. The 42-year-old man, identified with the initials C.P., was arrested by law enforcement outside Ho-Chunk Gaming Wittenberg near Wittenberg in Shawano County.

After the man was arrested on October 11, he entered into a guilty plea earlier this year on April 10. On Monday this week, Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach sentenced the 42-year-old man to 144 months or 12 years in prison.

The sentence came after C.P. was charged with possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid drug that has been growing its reach across the United States. Although fentanyl is an FDA-approved painkiller, it is often used in combination with illicit drugs.

Besides the 12-year prison sentence, the man was also sentenced to eight years of supervised release. Judge Griesbach acknowledged that the sentence seeks to serve as a deterrence, adding that the 42-year-old had three other felony convictions for drug dealing.

According to a statement released by the US Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Wisconsin, the criminal case follows an investigation by multiple agencies, including the FBI, the Menominee Tribal Police Department and the Central Wisconsin Narcotics Task Force. In the process, the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory also played a key role.

“Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that C.A.P. (age: 42), a former resident of Keshena and Wausau, received a prison sentence of 144 months following a conviction for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl,“

reads a statement released by the US Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Wisconsin

The Man Was Arrested with More than 40 Grams of Fentanyl

Near the end of September last year, the 42-year-old man sold nearly 5 grams of heroin to an undercover agent. The drug deal was completed on the Menominee Indian Reservation in Keshena.

The suspect was already under investigation for distribution of controlled substances when he met the undercover officer.

After the initial meeting, the 42-year-old man agreed to sell to the undercover agent 20 grams of fentanyl in about two weeks. The suspect confirmed that he would obtain the drugs from a “source in Chicago.”

Police monitored the drug dealer’s movements as he traveled from the Wausau area to Chicago and then came back. Early in October, the man was arrested by law enforcement on tribal land near a casino just outside Wittenberg. In his possession, law enforcement uncovered a plastic bag that had more than 40 grams of fentanyl.