Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Travis Lee Young, 47, Milwaukee, Wisconsin was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 144 months for possessing with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine and maintaining a drug trafficking place. Young pleaded guilty to these charges on June 6, 2023. This period of imprisonment will be followed by 5 years of supervised release.

On August 3, 2022, officers arrested Young at a hotel in Eagle River, Wisconsin. Young had been connected to a purchase of methamphetamine two weeks prior at the same hotel. Inside of Young’s hotel room, officers found over 600 grams of methamphetamine, over 940 M-30 fentanyl pills, and 17 grams of cocaine. These controlled substances were packaged for distribution. Officers also found a loaded semiautomatic firearm underneath the mattress of the bed. Young’s DNA was found on the firearm.

A witness involved in this investigation told officers that they had purchased methamphetamine from Young before. The same witness had driven Young to and from Milwaukee on drug-related trips around Wisconsin. A search of Young’s cellphone revealed that Young had been having multiple conversations about his drug trafficking.

Young was convicted in 2017 of the felony offenses of possession of a firearm by a felon and a burglary in Milwaukee County. Young was still serving the extended supervision portion of those sentences at the time of his arrest. Young had been convicted of eight felonies before the date of this arrest.

After his arrest, Young attempted to persuade witnesses to change their stories by sending letters from the jail, instructing them to recant and blame a different individual for the drugs and firearm.

At sentencing, Judge Peterson remarked that these crimes were really serious as involved a significant quantity of drugs. The judge voiced his concern that a firearm was involved, remarking that the gun was there to protect Young’s drug trafficking. The judge opined that Young had been a bad influence on the community. He stated that Young’s drug dealing harmed the public, as he was “making money off the illness of others.” The judge considered Young’s criminal history to be “serious” and “aggravated”, specifically focusing on Young’s previous involvement in violent crimes.

The charges against Young were the result of an investigation conducted by the Vilas County Sheriff’s Office, Eagle River Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn E. Ginsberg.