South Tulsa Today

Timothy M. O'Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Yoshi R. Walker, 26, from New Brighton, Minnesota, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to six years in federal prison for attempting to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. The sentence includes three years of supervised release following imprisonment. Walker pleaded guilty to the charge on April 12, 2024.

The investigation revealed a large-scale drug trafficking organization responsible for transporting over four kilograms of fentanyl pills into Madison from Arizona. Law enforcement began investigating the organization in January 2022 after seizing two mail packages containing one kilogram each of fentanyl pills (almost 20,000 pills in total). These packages were mailed by an individual in Arizona to addresses in Madison. Between March and October 2022, undercover officers purchased fentanyl pills from members of the organization on twenty-three occasions in the Madison area.

In early October, Walker was identified as an out-of-state source of fentanyl pills for the Madison-based organization. On October 18, 2022, law enforcement agents intercepted a package mailed from Arizona to an address in Madison and obtained a search warrant to open it. U.S. Postal inspectors found 1.75 kilograms of fentanyl pills (almost 16,000 pills) inside. Investigators identified Walker as the sender of the package from Arizona a day earlier. After intercepting the package, Walker discussed with Lloyd McKire-Bennett about the lost drug shipment.

At sentencing, Judge Peterson emphasized that the crime was severe due to involving a large quantity of a highly dangerous drug—fentanyl—and noted that Walker supplied the drug organization with fentanyl for distribution.

Three co-defendants were previously sentenced by Judge Peterson for their roles in this trafficking operation: Dejon C. Glover received four and a half years on May 16, 2024; Lloyd M. McKire-Bennett received over thirteen and a half years on May 17, 2024; and Deshawn P. Davis received five and a half years on May 22, 2024.

Three additional individuals have been charged: Jessica E. Leyvas and Christopher S. Wilson have both pleaded guilty; Wilson is scheduled for sentencing on July 29, while Leyvas' hearing has yet to be scheduled; Dantrell T. Stevenson’s case is set for trial where he remains presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The charge against Walker resulted from an investigation conducted by multiple agencies including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Drug Enforcement Administration among others under OCDETF's coordination—a multi-agency task force focusing on long-term narcotics trafficking investigations—with Assistant U.S Attorney Steven P Anderson prosecuting this case.