Ari Lor, Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Wisconsin 2023

A 30-year-old Appleton man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in a methamphetamine distribution ring.

Ari Lor, 30, of Appleton, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 10 years in prison for possessing with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

Lor pleaded guilty to the charge on April 4, 2023. The sentence was handed down on April 4, 2023, following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Central Wisconsin Narcotics Task Force.

According to court documents, law enforcement agents began a drug investigation into Lor in January 2022. On June 20, 2022, GPS location data from Lor’s cellular telephone showed he was driving towards Wausau, Wisconsin, from his home in Appleton.

Based on information developed during the investigation, agents believed Lor was planning to meet with co-defendant Devin Needham to buy methamphetamine. Law enforcement officers located Lor’s black minivan parked at a market in Wausau, and observed Lor leave the market carrying at least one plastic bag and get in the passenger side of the minivan.

After a K-9 positively alerted to the presence of narcotics, officers searched the minivan and found approximately one pound of methamphetamine in a white plastic bag. Surveillance video from the market showed Lor and Needham walking around the store together, with Needham carrying the same type of bag found in the minivan.

Lor’s arrest also revealed a text message on one of his phones, sent via the Telegram application on June 19, 2022, in which he asked Needham about the price of one pound of methamphetamine. Needham responded that it would cost $4,000.

Lor has four prior felony convictions, including convictions for strangulation and suffocation and possession with intent to distribute amphetamine. At the sentencing hearing, Judge Peterson concluded that a significant sentence was warranted due to Lor’s history of criminal activity.

Needham, who also pleaded guilty to possessing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine for distribution, is set to be sentenced by Judge Peterson on July 20, 2023.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Central Wisconsin Narcotics Task Force, which includes investigators from the FBI, Marathon County Sheriff’s Office, Wausau Police Department, Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Wisconsin State Patrol, Everest Metro Police Department, and Wisconsin’s National Guard Counterdrug Program.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Wegner is handling the prosecution. Lor’s criminal history and the severity of the offense warranted a significant sentence, which was handed down by the court.

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