Source: Office of United States Attorneys
MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Dantrell T. Stevenson, 31, Matteson, Illinois, was sentenced on December 2, 2024, by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 2 years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute fentanyl. The prison term will be followed by 4 years of supervised release. Stevenson pleaded guilty to this charge on September 9, 2024.
The government’s investigation revealed a large-scale drug trafficking organization that was responsible for bringing over 4 kilograms of fentanyl pills into Madison from Arizona. Law enforcement began investigating the organization in January 2022, following the seizure of two mail packages that each contained a kilogram of fentanyl pills (almost 20,000 pills in total). Both packages were mailed by an individual in Arizona to addresses in Madison.
Between March and October 2022, undercover officers purchased fentanyl pills from members of the organization on twenty-three occasions in the Madison area. Stevenson was involved in ten of those drug sales. In October 2022, another mail package destined for members of the Madison drug organization was seized and contained 1.75 kilograms of fentanyl pills.
During Stevenson’s involvement in the case, he was on parole through the state of Illinois, following a firearms conviction.
At sentencing, Judge Peterson noted that while the quantities of fentanyl that Stevenson was selling were smaller than his co-defendants, he was an active dealer and his conduct was harmful to the community.
Five other defendants involved in this fentanyl trafficking operation were charged in a separate indictment and have already been sentenced. Dejon C. Glover was sentenced on May 16, 2024, to 4 ½ years in federal prison for attempting to possess fentanyl intended for distribution. Lloyd M. McKire-Bennett was sentenced on May 17, 2024, to more than 13 ½ years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and possessing firearms and ammunition as a felon. Deshawn P. Davis was sentenced on May 22, 2024, to 5 ½ years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute fentanyl. Yoshi R. Walker was sentenced on July 24, 2024, to 6 years in federal prison for attempting to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. Christopher S. Wilson was sentenced on July 29, 2024, to 5 years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.
The charges against Stevenson and the other individuals were the result of an investigation conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, and Dane County Narcotics Task Force. The ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force also assisted with the investigation. The task force consists of federal agents from ATF and Task Force Officers (TFOs) from local agencies including the Dane County and Clark County Sheriff’s Offices and the Fitchburg, Madison, Sun Prairie, and La Crosse Police Departments. The investigation was conducted and funded by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a multi-agency task force that coordinates long-term narcotics trafficking investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven P. Anderson prosecuted this case.