MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN - U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Miles, Jr., announced that James Frederick Shelifoe, 43, of Baraga, Michigan, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 70 months’ imprisonment for distribution of cocaine. In addition to the prison term, Shelifoe was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release upon the completion of his term of incarceration.
In 2014, the Safe Trails Taskforce, which is comprised of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Michigan State Police, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, initiated an investigation into drug activity in the area of Baraga, Michigan. The investigation identified Shelifoe as a major cocaine dealer and established that during the preceding seven years he had distributed approximately 23 kilograms of cocaine in the western Upper Peninsula. He was indicted in December 2014 and pled guilty on Feb. 19, 2015. In imposing the sentence, U.S. District Judge R. Allan Edgar emphasized the need to protect the public and to deter others from emulating Shelifoe’s criminal behavior.
The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Tribal Police and the Safe Trails Taskforce investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hannah N. Bobee prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
