Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Roland J. Scott III, 21, Madison, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 8 years in federal prison for possessing with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and maintaining a drug trafficking place. The prison term will be followed by 5 years of supervised release. Scott pleaded guilty to these charges on February 24, 2023.

Between September 15 and October 5, 2021, Scott sold heroin and fentanyl to an undercover officer in Madison on four separate occasions. On October 7, 2021, law enforcement searched his residence and found 110 grams of fentanyl packaged in individual baggies, ready for sale, and over $10,000 in cash. Scott was arrested during the search, and later charged in state court and released on bond. At the time of his arrest, he was on bond in eight different state cases.

Several months later, on June 30, 2022, Scott and two passengers were driving in a stolen car in Madison when they crashed into a truck with a trailer. Scott and his passengers battered the two individuals inside the pickup truck. While fleeing the scene, Scott and his passengers drove past the truck and one of them fired a shot at the victims.

The car crashed a few miles down the road and Scott was arrested shortly thereafter. He was found in possession of 657 grams of fentanyl mixed with heroin, over $9,000 in cash, and a Glock 9mm handgun. At this point, Scott was on bond for ten state cases.

At sentencing, Judge Conley explained that Scott was a danger to society given the large quantity of fentanyl he was trafficking and for possessing a loaded handgun while drug dealing. He said that the decisions Scott has made and continue to make have been disastrous.

The charges against Scott were the result of an investigation conducted by the Madison Police Department, the Dane County Narcotics Task Force, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Dane County District Attorney’s Office also provided assistance in the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven P. Anderson and Kathryn E. Ginsberg prosecuted this case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.