MADISON, WIS. - Chadwick M. Elgersma, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Noah A. Hodges, 44, Madison, Wisconsin, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 5 years in federal prison for possessing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine intended for distribution. The prison term will be followed by 5 years of supervised release. Hodges pleaded guilty to this charge on May 5, 2026.

In early 2024, law enforcement began investigating members of a drug trafficking organization operating in Dane County. During the investigation, officers worked with confidential informants to purchase significant quantities of drugs. Officers seized drugs, firearms, and cash during search warrants executed at residences and vehicles associated with the organization.

Hodges was identified as a distributor for the drug trafficking organization. After observing likely drug activity by Hodges on February 6, 2025, police contacted Hodges in a vehicle. Law enforcement ultimately searched Hodges and the vehicle and seized a total of 355 grams of methamphetamine and 12 grams of heroin/fentanyl. At the time, Hodges was on state supervision for two felony intoxicated driving offenses. His supervision in those cases was later revoked, and he served a revocation sentence in state prison.

In determining an appropriate federal sentence, Judge Conley weighed the significant quantity of methamphetamine involved and the fact that Hodges committed the new crimes while on state supervision against Hodges's progress on pretrial release.

The charge against Hodges was the result of an investigation conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force, Dane County Narcotics Task Force, Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, Lake Winnebago Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group, Wisconsin State Patrol, and Madison Police Department. The ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force consists of federal agents from ATF and Task Force Officers from state and local agencies throughout the Western District of Wisconsin. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven P. Anderson and Kathryn Ginsberg prosecuted this case.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) Program initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of federal law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.