Chicago Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Leading a Large Drug Trafficking Organization and Armed Drug Trafficking (DOJ)

MADISON, WIS. - Chadwick M. Elgersma, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Jamar M. Purnell, 49, Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced last week by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 20 years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and 400 grams or more of fentanyl and for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The prison sentence will be followed by 5 years of supervised release. Purnell pleaded guilty to these charges on March 4, 2026.

In early 2024, law enforcement began investigating members of a drug trafficking organization operating in Dane County led by Purnell. During the investigation, officers worked with confidential informants to purchase significant quantities of drugs. Officers seized large quantities of drugs and firearms during search warrants executed at residences and vehicles associated with Purnell. For example, investigators found over 10,000 grams of methamphetamine, 166 grams of fentanyl, and a loaded handgun containing Purnell's DNA in just one drug house operated by Purnell in Madison. Because Purnell had previously been convicted of a felony he could not legally possess a firearm.

Purnell also oversaw both the supply and distribution sides of the organization. On the supply side, he coordinated the transportation of methamphetamine and fentanyl from suppliers in Arizona and Chicago to Madison. On the distribution side, he frequently arranged drug sales and then sent distributors to complete the sales.

Based on seizures and intercepted communications between March 2024 and March 2025, investigators conservatively estimate that Purnell was responsible for distributing approximately 28 kilograms of methamphetamine and 3,500 grams of fentanyl. In an interview following his arrest, Purnell said it was normal for him to obtain 50 pounds of methamphetamine at a time every two weeks from his supplier in Arizona. At the time of the investigation, Purnell was on supervision in Georgia for a prior drug trafficking conviction.

At sentencing, Judge Conley called the amount of drugs Purnell and his organization trafficked staggering and devastating to the community. Noting Purnell's numerous prior drug trafficking convictions, Judge Conley commented that Purnell had made a career of drug trafficking for financial gain. Judge Conley pointed to Purnell's brazen decision to continue drug trafficking even after investigators searched his drug house in Madison as evidence of his dangerousness to the community.

Fifteen others were also charged with Purnell in connection with this drug trafficking organization. Shavarim J. Wicks, Keean V. Moore, Keean V. Moore Jr., Jimmie A. Leuaxay, James L. Dubois, James K. Land, and Travis J. Corrado have pleaded guilty for their roles and are scheduled to be sentenced in the coming months. Cases against Dajuea M. Purnell, William M. Marshall, Treagir J. Sander, Kyle W. Haag, Anthony E. Hohenstein, Waylon R. Degenhardt, Alisha R. Lavine, and Yasir W. Stackhouse are still pending, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The charges against Purnell were the result of an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force, Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, Dane County Narcotics Task Force, 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.

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