MADISON, WIS. - Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Arthur Jones, 41, Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to three years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute fentanyl-laced heroin in the Madison area from May through November of 2018. Jones and his co-conspirator Corey Douglas, 28, also of Chicago, both pleaded guilty to this charge on June 5, 2019. Douglas was sentenced by Judge Peterson on August 29 to a three-year prison sentence.
Jones maintained a residence in Fitchburg that police knew from their investigation was a stash house for drugs. Douglas was arrested by Dane County Narcotics Task Force officers on Nov. 29, 2018, after he left the residence. At that time, Douglas possessed almost 12 grams of a mixture of heroin and fentanyl pre-packaged for street-level sale. A subsequent search of the residence maintained by Jones resulted in the discovery of more than 80 grams of additional heroin and fentanyl mixture.
In sentencing both Jones and Douglas, Judge Peterson weighed the defendants’ lack of criminal history against the danger associated with distributing a mixture of heroin and fentanyl throughout the community. Despite the lack of criminal history, Judge Peterson said the offense deserved a significant sentence because of the higher risk of an overdose death associated with a mixture of heroin and fentanyl, and the defendants’ repeated exploitation of others’ addiction.
The charges against Arthur Jones and Corey Douglas were the result of an investigation conducted by the Dane County Narcotics Task Force. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Anderson.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
