Madison Man Sentenced to More Than 5 Years for Drug Trafficking and Illegally Possessing Firearm

MADISON, WIS. - Chadwick M. Elgersma, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Steve E. Adams, 43, Madison, Wisconsin, was sentenced last week by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 62 months in federal prison for distributing heroin and fentanyl and illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Adams pleaded guilty to these charges on March 20, 2026.

Between May 6, 2025, and June 18, 2025, Adams sold a mixture of heroin and fentanyl multiple times on the east side of Madison. In late June, officers searched Adams' house and found more drugs, a hydraulic press, and a loaded Ruger-57, 5.7x28 caliber pistol. Adams is prohibited from legally possessing firearms or ammunition because of a prior felony conviction.

Judge Peterson remarked that the hydraulic press suggested Adams was engaged in "more than basic street level" dealing. The judge was troubled that Adams engaged in this criminal behavior despite having a well-paying job in the construction industry.

The charges against Adams were the result of an investigation conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, and the ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force, which is comprised of federal agents from ATF as well as state and local agents throughout the Western District of Wisconsin. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan Stelljes and Alex Samuel prosecuted this case.

Federal prosecutions by the U.S. Department of Justice involving drugs and guns are part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Operation Take Back America. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminals, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).