Madison Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Homeland Security Task Force Drug Case

MADISON, WIS. - Chadwick M. Elgersma, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Dajuea M. Purnell, 28, Madison, Wisconsin, was sentenced last week by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 10 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, 400 grams or more of fentanyl, and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. The prison term will be followed by 5 years of supervised release. Purnell pleaded guilty to these charges on August 3, 2026.

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

Dajuea Purnell was identified as a primary distributor for the organization. He would deliver methamphetamine, heroin laced with fentanyl, and cocaine on behalf of his father, Jamar Purnell. On July 2, 2024, Dajuea Purnell distributed 655 grams of methamphetamine to a confidential informant in Madison. On July 9, 2024, he distributed 336 grams of methamphetamine to a confidential informant in Madison.

On July 19, 2024, officers arrested Dajuea Purnell after he was observed leaving the residence of a drug trafficking co-conspirator in Madison. He was carrying a backpack that contained 280 grams of methamphetamine, 163 grams of fentanyl, 17 grams of cocaine, $11,460 in U.S. currency, and a digital scale. A loaded Glock 19X, 9mm pistol equipped with an extended magazine was found in his car nearby. A search warrant was executed at his residence in Madison on the same day. At the residence, officers seized 1,139 grams of methamphetamine, 513 grams of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues, 871 grams of cocaine, two digital scales, and another Glock pistol. Purnell is prohibited from legally possessing firearms and ammunition because of a prior felony conviction.

At the time of the search warrant, Purnell was on state supervision for a prior conviction for fentanyl trafficking. His supervision was later revoked, and he was sentenced to 2 years in state prison in that case.

In imposing the federal sentence, Judge Conley weighed the serious nature of Purnell's conduct including his role in the drug organization and his involvement with firearms while on state supervision against his relatively young age, limited prior criminal history, comparatively shorter involvement in the conspiracy, and the fact that he was brought into the conspiracy by his father.

The charges against Purnell were the result of an investigation conducted by the U.S. 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 David Reinhard 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.