Fox Valley Man Sentenced to 12 1/2 years’ Imprisonment for Trafficking Fentanyl and for Possessing Firearms in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking and as a Previously Convicted Felon

Wisconsin, announced that on August 13, 2024, Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach sentenced Christopher D. Turner (age: 32) to a total sentence of 12 1/2 years' imprisonment and eight years supervised release after Turner pled guilty to Possessing Fentanyl With Intent to Distribute, Possessing Firearms in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking, and Possessing Firearms as a Previously Convicted Felon, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1), and Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(c).

According to court records, in October and November 2023, agents with the Lake Winnebago Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group ("LWAM") used informants to make controlled buys of fentanyl from Turner. LWAM ultimately arrested Turner on December 14, 2023, when he arrived at Turner Furniture, which was a storefront that he maintained in Grand Chute. Agents executed search warrants at Turner Furniture and two residences linked to Turner in Menasha and Kaukauna, finding over 18 grams of cocaine, 264 grams of illicitly made fentanyl, and two 9-mm pistols. One of the pistols had an extended magazine capable of holding more than 15 rounds of ammunition, and the other pistol had a magazine loaded with 15 rounds. Turner is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms and ammunition because he was previously convicted of two robberies by force in Outagamie and Winnebago Counties.

In sentencing Turner, Judge Griesbach stressed that dealing fentanyl is akin to dealing poison, that it causes numerous deaths in northeast Wisconsin and across the country, and that Turner's crimes had the effect of enriching Mexican drug cartels who illicitly manufacture fentanyl to be distributed and used in the United States. Judge Griesbach cited other aggravating factors, including Turner's criminal history and his unlawful possession of two pistols in furtherance of drug trafficking and as a convicted felon.

This case was investigated by the Lake Winnebago Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group Drug Unit, the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Funnel.

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