Six Charged in Methamphetamine Conspiracy

MADISON, WIS. – Six individuals are charged with a methamphetamine conspiracy in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury sitting in Madison on May 12, 2021, announced Timothy M. O’Shea, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul.  The indictment was unsealed following the arrests of the defendants. 

The defendants are Levi Bagne, 30, Buckeye, Arizona; Corey Freyermuth, 38, Oshkosh, Wisconsin; TJ Myers, 32, Merrill, Wisconsin; Amy Pehlke, 33, Merrill; Krista Sparks, 26, Phoenix, Arizona; and Matthew White, 36, Merrill. 

Each of the defendants is charged with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and to possess 50 grams of more of methamphetamine for distribution.  The indictment alleges that the conspiracy operated from June 2019 through May 2021.  In addition, Myers is charged with possessing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine for distribution on June 8, 2020.  Pehlke and White also are charged with distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.  The indictment alleges that Pehlke distributed the drug on July 23, 2020, and White did so on July 28, 2020.  Bagne and Freyermuth are charged with possessing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine for distribution on September 2, 2020.

The government’s investigation revealed that beginning in June of 2019, Bagne and Sparks used the United States Postal Service to mail methamphetamine from Phoenix, Arizona, to Freyermuth in Oshkosh.  In November of 2019, agents seized a mail parcel sent by Bagne and Sparks to Freyermuth and found two pounds of methamphetamine.  In February of 2020, agents seized another mail parcel sent by Bagne and Sparks to Freyermuth and found approximately six pounds of methamphetamine.  On September 2, 2020, agents executed a search warrant on a storage facility in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, used by Bagne and Freyermuth and found ten pounds of methamphetamine.  In total, agents have seized approximately 20 pounds of methamphetamine and 14 firearms during the course of the investigation.

The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of property constituting or derived from proceeds of the conspiracy, including real property located in Buckeye, Arizona; $5,866 in U.S. currency seized on July 23, 2020, in Merrill; $1,180 in U.S. currency seized on April 8, 2021, in Merrill; and $31,220 in U.S. currency seized on April 8, 2021 in Schofield, Wisconsin. 

“A combined local, state, and federal investigation led to the indictment charging these six individuals with operating an interstate drug trafficking scheme,” said Acting U.S. Attorney O’Shea.  “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute those who bring methamphetamine into Wisconsin and distribute it in our communities.”

“By working up the supply chain, the investigators in this case were able to identify individuals allegedly responsible for trafficking large amounts of meth into Wisconsin,” said AG Kaul. “Thank you to Lake Winnebago Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group and the many agencies that worked together to make Wisconsin safer by taking down this alleged drug trafficking organization.”

Bagne and Sparks were arrested in Arizona on May 26.  The same day, Freyermuth was arrested in Oshkosh and Pehlke was arrested in Merrill.   Myers and White are in state custody on state charges.  Bagne and Sparks have made an initial appearance in Arizona; no date has been set for their appearance in U.S. District Court in Wisconsin.  Pehlke and Freyermuth had detention hearings in federal court in Madison on June 1 and June 2, respectively.   Pehlke was released this morning on court-imposed conditions, and Freyermuth remains detained.

If convicted, each defendant faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years and a maximum of life in federal prison on each charge.   The charges against the defendants are the result of an investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Lake Winnebago Area MEG Unit, Central Wisconsin Narcotics Task Force, Glendale (Arizona) Police Department – Special Investigations Unit, Arizona High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area West Valley Task Force, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.