Source: Office of United States Attorneys
MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Marco Cota-Tamaura, 44, Oxford, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to one year and one day in federal prison for possessing methamphetamine in prison. Cota-Tamaura pleaded guilty to this charge on December 2, 2024.
On March 22, 2024, Cota-Tamaura was serving a prison sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, Oxford, Wisconsin (FCI Oxford). During a drug test that day, he tested positive for methamphetamine and then prison staff found him in possession of methamphetamine. Methamphetamine is prohibited in federal prisons.
At the sentencing hearing, Judge Conley expressed disappointment that Cota-Tamaura abused his placement at FCI Oxford after achieving a reduced security level during his current prison term. He noted that Cota-Tamaura’s possession of methamphetamine presented a grave risk to inmates and guards, and that this justified adding a year to Cota-Tamaura’s current sentence.
The charge against Cota-Tamaura was the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Prisons. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Ayala prosecuted this case.