Medford Cat Killer Gets 49 Months for Illegal Gun

RIB MOUNTAIN, WI – Michael Alexander, 54, of Medford, Wisconsin, is heading back to prison after a Marathon County traffic stop revealed he was illegally packing heat. Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson sentenced Alexander to 49 months behind bars yesterday for being a felon in possession of a firearm – a charge stemming from a December 2019 encounter with law enforcement.

The bust went down when a Marathon County Sheriff’s Deputy pulled over Alexander’s vehicle in Rib Mountain. The deputy spotted an empty holster on Alexander, sparking further investigation. A search of the car uncovered a loaded .45 caliber handgun stashed in a tool bag in the backseat. Alexander readily admitted the gun was his, offering a bizarre justification: he used it to shoot feral cats on his property.

But the gun wasn’t the only illegal substance found. A search of the trunk revealed both marijuana and methamphetamine. Alexander confessed to possessing the drugs and even admitted to being a small-time dealer. This wasn’t his first brush with the law, either. In 2016, Alexander was convicted in Taylor County of felony possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, landing him a six-year prison sentence followed by eight years of extended supervision.

He was released early in May 2019, thanks to the earned release program – a fact Judge Peterson didn’t miss during sentencing. Peterson highlighted the breach of trust inherent in granting Alexander early release and underscored the inherent danger of combining firearms with drug transactions. The judge also sentenced Alexander to an additional 37 months in state prison for violating the terms of his supervision, to be served concurrently with the federal sentence.

The case was a collaborative effort, spearheaded by the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Stephan prosecuted the case. This prosecution falls under the umbrella of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a Department of Justice initiative aimed at curbing violent crime through coordinated federal, state, and local law enforcement efforts.

PSN specifically targets gun crime, focusing on felons illegally possessing firearms and the intersection of gun violence with drug trafficking and other violent offenses. Alexander’s case serves as a stark reminder that possessing a firearm while being a convicted felon carries serious consequences, and that early release doesn’t grant immunity from the law. The streets of Wisconsin are a little safer with this cat-shooting, drug-dealing felon back behind bars.