Beloit Man Sentenced to Six Years in Federal Prison for Heroin Trafficking

MADISON, WI—John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Maurice Lockhart, 37, of Beloit, Wisconsin, was sentenced yesterday by Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to six years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to distribute heroin in Beloit during 2010.

Lockhart was found guilty of the conspiracy charge by a jury in Madison after a three-day trial in January. At trial, witnesses testified that during the summer of 2010, Maurice Vaughn supplied 50-80 bags of heroin each day to Maurice Lockhart and Carlos Ford, who then distributed them in the Beloit area. Customers contacted Vaughn to arrange the heroin deals, and then Vaughn would arrange for Ford or Lockhart to deliver the heroin to those customers.

Ford pleaded guilty to a federal heroin charge in early 2011 and was sentenced in August 2011 to five years in prison. Maurice Vaughn was also found guilty at trial and was sentenced on March 29, 2011 to 20 years in federal prison for his role as the leader of the conspiracy. The investigation began when Beloit Police became concerned in the summer of 2010 that there had been a number of heroin overdoses.

The charges against Lockhart were the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, which consists of the Beloit Police Department, Rock County Sheriff’s Office, and Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Anderson.