Madison, Wis. - John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Amber Johnson, 27, La Crosse, Wis., was sentenced on Friday, May 13, by U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb to 50 months in prison for conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine. Ms. Johnson pleaded guilty to this charge on February 27, 2011.

On April 26, 2010, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the residence of Travis and Amber Johnson in La Crosse where the police recovered a jar containing liquid methamphetamine in addition to materials, chemicals and equipment to manufacture methamphetamine. Travis and Amber Johnson were arrested and subsequently charged on December 15, 2010, in a four-count indictment with conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, possession of materials to manufacture methamphetamine, conspiracy to possess pseudoephedrine for purposes of manufacturing methamphetamine, and with manufacturing methamphetamine.

At sentencing, Judge Crabb stated that while Ms. Johnson was less culpable than her husband, a substantial prison term was warranted to account for the fact that she participated in the manufacture of methamphetamine in her home where her two young children also resided and could have been harmed.

Travis Johnson was sentenced on May 11, 2011, to 90 months in prison for his role in the case.

The charges against the defendants were the result of an investigation conducted by the La Crosse County Sheriff's Department, La Crosse Police Department, Vernon County Sheriff's Department, and the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul W. Connell.

 

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