Shaun Ciokiewicz, a 39-year-old resident of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for possessing over 50 grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The sentence was handed down on February 2, 2026, by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson after Ciokiewicz pleaded guilty in October 2025.
Law enforcement officers from the West Central Drug Task Force began investigating Ciokiewicz in late 2024 following reports that he was selling methamphetamine. Police stopped him while he was allegedly en route to a drug transaction and arrested him due to outstanding warrants. A search revealed a baggie containing 5.5 grams of methamphetamine on his person and an additional bag with 55 smaller packages totaling 193.2 grams inside his vehicle.
During sentencing, Judge Peterson commented on the scale of the operation: “just a sample” of Ciokiewicz’s overall distribution had been discovered during the traffic stop. He further noted that Ciokiewicz wasn’t a “benign meth user,” but rather someone whose actions had escalated into “really serious behavior” that posed a threat to public safety.
The investigation involved multiple agencies, including the Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office, West Central Drug Task Force, Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Remington prosecuted the case.
This prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America, an initiative led by the U.S. Department of Justice aiming to eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect communities from violent crime by combining resources from programs such as Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
