Use of a Phone to Facilitate Cocaine Distribution on Menominee Indian Reservation Leads to Prison Sentence for Keshena Woman

Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that Candice A. Sanapaw (age: 42), of Keshena on the Menominee Indian Reservation, received a sentence of 12 months in federal prison following a conviction for use of a communication facility to facilitate a drug offense.

The sentence, imposed on June 26, 2023, by Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach, was the result of a guilty plea entered by the defendant on March 14, 2023. Sanapaw will also face one year of supervised release once she completes her sentence.

According to court records, an investigation revealed that on June 3, 2021, law enforcement responded to an address on 1st Avenue in Neopit, Wisconsin, on report of an unconscious female who was not breathing.  Despite life-saving efforts by officers and first responders, the woman was declared deceased.  A subsequent autopsy revealed the presence of cocaine metabolites and fentanyl, and the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the woman’s cause of death to be Acute Mixed Drug Intoxication.

Examination of the deceased’s phone and interviews with her associates led to the identification of Sanapaw as the source of the cocaine that led to the woman’s death. The investigation further revealed that the deceased had purchased cocaine from Sanapaw on four prior occasions.

In sentencing the defendant, Judge Griesbach noted the seriousness of the crime the defendant committed and remarked upon the need to deter those who might consider similar actions to protect the community from the destructive effects of the abuse of controlled substances.

The Menominee Tribal Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case, which Assistant United States Attorney Andrew J. Maier prosecuted in United States District Court.

# #  #

For Additional Information Contact:

Public Information Officer

Kenneth.Gales@usdoj.gov

414-297-1700

Follow us on Twitter