Madison Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Possessing Firearm and Drug Trafficking

MADISON, WIS. - Chadwick M. Elgersma, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Jeramie J. Mason, 40, Madison, Wisconsin, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 15 years in federal prison for illegally possessing a firearm as a felon, and possessing with intent to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl, more than 50 grams of methamphetamine and cocaine. The prison term will be followed by 10 years of supervised release. A jury convicted Mason of these crimes after a three-day trial in federal court in Madison on April 21, 2025.

On November 3, 2023, Madison Police detectives searched Mason's bedroom for evidence of a fight that had occurred at Warner Beach Park two weeks before. In the bedroom closet, police found a loaded firearm inside of a backpack and a plastic jar containing 4320 counterfeit prescription pills that contained fentanyl, 277 grams of cocaine, and more than 240 counterfeit ecstasy pills containing methamphetamine. Later, an analyst from the Wisconsin State Crime Lab found Mason's DNA on the firearm and drug packaging. At the time of the offense, Mason was on supervision for possessing heroin intended for distribution. Mason is prohibited from legally possessing firearms under federal law based on that and other felony convictions.

At sentencing, Judge Conley noted that Mason's offenses were an "alarming escalation" of his criminal conduct. Considering Mason's history of violent crimes, Judge Conley found it especially concerning that a firearm was found near the large quantity of drugs.

The charges against Mason were the result of an investigation conducted by the Madison Police Department, Maple Bluff Police Department, and the ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration. The ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force consists of federal agents from ATF and Task Force Officers (TFOs) from state and local agencies throughout the Western District of Wisconsin. Assistant U.S. Attorneys William M. Levins and Aaron Wegner prosecuted this case.

Federal cases involving drugs and firearms are part of Operation Take Back America. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).