Wausau Man Sentenced to 72 Months for Methamphetamine Distribution

MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Lucas Ellwart, 28, Wausau, Wisconsin was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 72 months in federal prison for distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. This prison term will be followed by 5 years of supervised release. Ellwart pleaded guilty to this charge on July 20, 2022.

While investigating Victor Pennington, law enforcement discovered Ellwart’s involvement in distributing methamphetamine. Through the course of the investigation, law enforcement used a confidential informant to purchase over 50 grams of methamphetamine from Ellwart on two occasions. He was arrested in September 2021 after a high-speed pursuit with law enforcement, during which the defendant threw over 800 grams of methamphetamine out of the window of a vehicle driven by Pennington.  Pennington pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine on September 27, 2022. Pennington will be sentenced by Judge Conley on January 4, 2023.

Ellwart is currently serving a term of imprisonment for Wisconsin convictions involving possession and delivery of methamphetamine. The sentence in the federal case will be served concurrently with the remainder of the defendant’s state sentence. 

In sentencing Ellwart, Judge Conley credited the defendant for assisting law enforcement in locating the methamphetamine he discarded during the high-speed pursuit that led to his arrest. Judge Conley stated that a sentence above the mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years was warranted, however, because of the defendant’s relationship to Pennington and his own history of repeated drug crimes.

The charge against Ellwart was a result of an investigation conducted by the Central Wisconsin Narcotics Task Force, which is comprised of investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Marathon County Sheriff’s Office; Wausau Police Department; Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation; Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office; Wisconsin State Patrol; Everest Metro Police Department; and Wisconsin’s National Guard Counterdrug Program. The prosecution of this case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Taylor L. Kraus.