Minnesota Man Sentenced to 6 Years for Fentanyl Trafficking

MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Yoshi R. Walker, 26, New Brighton, Minnesota, was sentenced yesterday by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 6 years in federal prison for attempting to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. The prison term will be followed by 3 years of supervised release. Walker pleaded guilty to this charge on April 12, 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 one kilogram of fentanyl pills (almost 20,000 pills in total). The packages had been mailed by the same 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.

In early October, Walker was identified as an out of state source of fentanyl pills for the Madison-based organization. On October 18, 2022, as part of the larger investigation, law enforcement agents intercepted a package mailed from Arizona to an address in Madison and obtained a search warrant to open the package. U.S. Postal inspectors found 1.75 kilograms of fentanyl pills (almost 16,000 pills) inside. Investigators identified Walker as the individual who had mailed the package from Arizona the day before. After the package was intercepted, Walker spoke with Lloyd McKire-Bennett, the leader of the Madison organization, about the lost drug shipment.

At sentencing, Judge Peterson highlighted that the crime was very serious as it involved a large quantity of a very dangerous drug, fentanyl. He said that Walker was a supplier to the drug organization, making fentanyl available for them to distribute.

Three co-defendants were previously sentenced by Judge Peterson for their roles in the fentanyl pill trafficking organization. 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.

Three others were charged in connection with this trafficking organization: Jessica E. Leyvas, Dantrell T. Stevenson, and Christopher S. Wilson. Leyvas and Wilson have both pleaded guilty. Wilson is scheduled to be sentenced on July 29, 2024, and Leyvas’ sentencing hearing is yet to be scheduled. Stevenson’s case is scheduled for trial, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The charge against Walker is the result of an investigation conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Dane County Narcotics Task Force. 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.