Two Marinette Men Sentenced On Heroin Charges

James L. Santelle, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on May 8, 2014, Michael David Peak (age: 40) and Shawn Allen Klatt (age: 33) both of Marinette were sentenced to 24 months and 36 months respectively by Chief United States District Judge William C. Griesbach. Each had previously entered a guilty plea to a charge of using a communication facility (i.e., a telephone) to facilitate the distribution of heroin.

According to their plea agreements and other documents filed with the court, Peak and Klatt worked in concert with seven other co-defendants to facilitate the movement and delivery of heroin to the Marinette, Wisconsin, and Menominee, Michigan areas from a primary supplier in Chicago. Peak and Klatt were the first of nine defendants facing sentencing.    

The court noted the “serious and dangerous nature” of the defendants’ actions, as well as the “devastating effect” that heroin use has had in the Marinette and Menominee region.  The court described the coordinated actions of Peak, Klatt, and their co-defendants as essentially “a drug co-operative” designed not for the purpose of creating a profit, but to increase purchasing power and increase the frequency of coordinated “heroin runs” to Chicago. 

The case was investigated by Special Agents from the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Department of Criminal Investigation, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the Marinette Police Department, Marinette Sheriff’s Office, Menominee (Michigan) Police Department, Menominee (Michigan) Sheriff’s Office, Wisconsin HIDTA Task Force, Chicago HIDTA Task Force, Chicago Police Department, Northeast Wisconsin Tri-County Drug Enforcement Group, and the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble.