Six Charged in Homeland Security Task Force Drug Trafficking Case

MADISON, WIS. - Chadwick M. Elgersma, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that six people have been charged with drug trafficking in the Madison, Wisconsin area. All the defendants have now made their initial appearances in federal court.

Christain Garrett, 26, Jerden Montgomery, 55, Edward McClain, 56, and Antanisha Branch, 29, of Madison, Wisconsin, and Tevin Newell, 27, and Cierra McGary, 28, of Chicago, Illinois, are charged with conspiring to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine base, methamphetamine, and fentanyl between March 3, 2025, and January 27, 2026.

Montgomery is also charged with possessing a firearm as a convicted felon on October 9, 2025.

Garrett and Newell are also charged with possessing more than 280 grams of cocaine base intended for distribution on February 25, 2026.

Garrett appeared in federal court on March 2, 2026, and was ordered detained pending trial. Newell and McGary both appeared on May 7, 2026. Branch appeared on June 4, 2026. McClain made his initial appearance on June 11, 2026, while Montgomery appeared on June 12, 2026. Trial dates have not yet been set.

If convicted for their roles in the conspiracy, Garrett and Newell each face a mandatory minimum penalty of ten years in federal prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. If convicted, McGary faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison. If convicted, Montgomery, McClain, and Branch each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

The charges against them are the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Madison Police Department, Dane County Narcotics Task Force, Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigations, and the ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force. The ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force is comprised of federal agents from ATF and Task Force Officers from state and local agencies throughout the Western District of Wisconsin. Assistant U.S. Attorney William M. Levins is handling the case.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) Program initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of federal law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

You are advised that a charge is merely an accusation, and a person named as defendant in an indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.