TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR

TJ Myers, age 33 of Merrill, was sentenced to 137 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, according to a new release issued by Timothy O’Shea, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Wegner handled the prosecution. Myers pled guilty to the charge on Jan. 26, 2022, and Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson sentenced Myers on May 9, 2022.

A co-defendant in the case, Levi Bagne of Arizona, who was Myers’ methamphetamine source according to the investigation, signed a plea agreement and appeared at a plea hearing before Judge Peterson on May 10, 2022.

According to the press release, Myers was arrested as the result of a June 8, 2020, traffic stop by the Merrill Police Department. Myers was driving a Jeep Patriot and fled on foot after stopping the vehicle. A search of the Jeep revealed approximately 400 grams of meth inside the center console. He was subsequently arrested and had been out of prison at the time for less than two months.

Judge Peterson considered that timing an aggravating factor as he pronounced his sentence, the release said. Further, “Judge Peterson described Myers’ criminal history as ‘unrelenting’ and noted his multiple felony convictions for methamphetamine trafficking,” the release said. The Judge concluded that a substantial sentence was warranted because Myers played a significant role in a large-scale drug trafficking organization.

The arrest and charge against Myers was the result of a joint investigation by the Central Wisconsin Narcotics Task Force, Drug Enforcement Administration, Lake Winnebago Area Metropolitan Unit, and Merrill Police Department. The investigation was conducted and funded by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a multi-agency task force that coordinates long-term narcotics trafficking investigations.