Rock County man sentenced to more than six years in federal prison, DOJ says

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – A 37-year-old Beloit man was sentenced Tuesday to six and a half years in federal prison for possessing firearms after a felony conviction and maintaining a drug premises , according to the Department of Justice.

On February 14, the man pleaded guilty to these charges.

According to the DOJ, Beloit police say they have been investigating the man for drug trafficking since January 2023.

Police found evidence of marijuana trafficking in his trash cans during their investigation, the DOJ reports.

Authorities say officers were conducting surveillance at his home and noticed another man enter his home with an empty bag. The other man then left the house with the same full bag, authorities report.

Two other people were seen committing similar acts. Officers confronted these individuals and found two pounds of marijuana in a backpack. They told police they had purchased marijuana from the 37-year-old man.

The DOJ says police obtained and executed a search warrant at the suspect's home and found more than 6,500 grams of marijuana packaged for distribution as well as a loaded handgun that had the suspect's DNA on it. During their investigation, the DOJ said officers also found a Glock Model 19 handgun and a Masterpiece Arms Defender 9mm handgun with an obliterated serial number in the Beloit man's car. The handgun was equipped with a Glock “switch.” The “switch” is an illegal aftermarket device that converts a semi-automatic handgun into a fully functional machine gun.

This is the suspect's second federal felony conviction, the DOJ reports. In 2010, the DOJ said the Beloit man was convicted of distributing cocaine in the Western District of Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice's Division of Criminal Investigation was among several agencies involved in this investigation.

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