Madison Woman Sentenced to 4 ½ Years for Fentanyl Trafficking

MADISON, WIS. - Timothy M. O'Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that a Madison woman has been sentenced to federal prison in connection with fentanyl trafficking.

Alexis K. Davis, 28, Madison, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 4 ½ years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. The prison term will be followed by four years of supervised release. Davis pled guilty to this charge on April 4, 2024.

On January 26, 2023, law enforcement intercepted two suspicious packages being shipped to the Madison area from Arizona. After obtaining a search warrant, officers opened the packages and inside each, found a stuffed animal containing approximately 2.2 kilograms of counterfeit prescription pills. In total, more than 40,000 pills were seized. Testing found that the pills contained fentanyl. Officers arranged for a controlled delivery of one package and Davis and co-defendant Jontell C. Shepherd were arrested after arriving at the delivery location to pick up the package.

The government's investigation revealed that co-defendant Brianna M. Reno arranged for co-defendant Keyshawna D. Draper to ship the fentanyl pills to Madison from Arizona. Davis provided Reno with $10,000 to purchase some of the pills. On January 25, 2023, Draper travelled from Atlanta to Phoenix where she packaged the pills and mailed them to Reno and Davis in Madison.

At sentencing, Judge Peterson reflected on the serious harm that fentanyl causes the community. He also found it concerning that Davis chose to make money by exploiting the addictions of others.

Davis is the final defendant charged in this trafficking scheme to be sentenced. On July 10, 2024, Reno was sentenced to seven years in federal prison. On July 23, 2024, Draper was sentenced to two and a half years in prison and Shepherd was sentenced to over three and a half years in prison.

The charges against Reno, Shepherd, Davis, and Draper were the result of an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation. 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 William M. Levins prosecuted this case.