Chicago Man Sentenced to 13 Years for Significant Drug Trafficking in Madison
MADISON, Wis. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Dery McDuffy, 34, Madison, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 13 years in federal prison for possessing more than a kilogram of heroin with the intent to distribute it and illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. This prison term will be followed by a 6-year term of supervised release. McDuffy pleaded guilty to these charges on June 7, 2023.
In September and October 2022, McDuffy sold large amounts of heroin and methamphetamine in transactions recorded by local law enforcement and the Drug Enforcement Administration. On October 12, after he delivered a pound of methamphetamine and five ounces of heroin, officers trailed McDuffy to a storage unit he had rented on Madison’s westside. Officers arrested McDuffy and searched the unit, finding approximately 2 kilograms of heroin, 725 grams of cocaine, and five guns along with ammunition. McDuffy had previously been convicted of felony drug offenses in the State of Illinois, so was prohibited from possessing firearms.
During sentencing, Judge Peterson explained that a primary priority in sentencing McDuffy was the protection of the public from the dangerous drugs he was selling, which degrade the community and exploit the illness of drug users. Labeling McDuffy a moderately-high level dealer who possessed firearms and an unrelenting criminal history, Peterson concluded that McDuffy was a danger to the community, necessitating a significant but fair sentence.
The charges against McDuffy were the result of an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Dane County Narcotics Task Force, Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, Wisconsin State Patrol, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The prosecution of this case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Anderson.
This case has been brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the U.S. Justice Department’s program to reduce violent crime. The PSN approach emphasizes coordination between state and federal prosecutors and all levels of law enforcement to address gun crime, especially felons illegally possessing firearms and ammunition and violent and drug crimes that involve the use of firearms.
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