Wausau Man Sentenced to Eight Years for Cocaine Trafficking and Illegal Firearms Possession (DOJ)

MADISON, WIS. - Chadwick M. Elgersma, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Johntay L. Johnson, 40, Wausau, Wisconsin, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 8 years in federal prison for maintaining a drug-involved premises, possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, and distributing cocaine. The prison term will be followed by 3 years of supervised release. Johnson pleaded guilty to these charges on July 1, 2025.

In December 2023, investigators with the Central Wisconsin Narcotics Task Force identified Johnson as a cocaine trafficker operating out of Wausau, Wisconsin. Between January and July 2024, a confidential informant purchased two ounces of cocaine from Johnson on seven occasions, with six of the controlled buys occurring at Johnson's home in Wausau.

On September 10, 2024, while executing a search warrant at Johnson's residence in Wausau, officers located three firearms, cocaine, and marijuana in Johnson's bedroom. A fourth firearm was recovered in a second bedroom. Officers also discovered over $13,000 in cash, digital scales, and other drug paraphernalia in the residence. Two of the firearms seized had previously been reported stolen.

At the time of the search warrant, Johnson was arrested on an outstanding warrant in an unrelated state case. He was charged in state court for the guns and drugs found in his home and released on a cash bond two days later. Two weeks later, and while out on bond, Johnson sold an ounce of cocaine to a confidential informant and then did so again in late November 2024.

At sentencing, Judge Conley noted that Johnson's cocaine trafficking was aggravated by multiple factors, including his possession of multiple firearms, his quick return to drug dealing after being arrested in the middle of this investigation, and his lengthy criminal record that includes five prior convictions for cocaine trafficking.

The charges against Johnson were the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI's Central Wisconsin Narcotics Task Force comprised of agents from the FBI, Wisconsin State Patrol, Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, Marathon County Sheriff's Office, Portage County Sheriff's Office, Mountain Bay Police Department, Wausau Police Department and Wisconsin National Guard Counter Drug Program. The ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force and the Marathon County District Attorney's Office also assisted with the investigation. 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 Steven P. Anderson prosecuted this case.

Federal criminal cases involving drugs and guns are part of Operation Take Back America, 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 (TCOs), 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 (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).