Tomah Meth Kingpin Gets 12 Years

MADISON, WI – Victor Pennington, 27, of Tomah, Wisconsin, is headed to federal prison for a decade and more after being sentenced to 12 years for flooding central Wisconsin with methamphetamine. U.S. District Judge William M. Conley delivered the sentence today, adding five years of supervised release to the term, marking a significant blow to a local drug operation.

The case began unraveling in January 2021, with law enforcement focusing on Pennington’s drug dealing activities. Confidential informants made multiple buys – over 100 grams of meth – directly from Pennington or his associate, Lucas Ellwart, on three separate occasions. The investigation also revealed Pennington’s attempts to circumvent his own criminal record, utilizing Kyle Ritchie to illegally purchase firearms on his behalf. Pennington, already a convicted felon, was prohibited from owning or buying guns.

Pennington’s desperation to avoid capture came to a head in September 2021, when officers attempted a traffic stop as he returned from a suspected drug run to Minnesota. He didn’t comply. A 33-mile high-speed chase ensued, during which Pennington brazenly instructed Ellwart to toss over 700 grams of methamphetamine out of the car window in a pathetic attempt to ditch the evidence. Officers successfully recovered the discarded drugs along the pursuit route.

This wasn’t Pennington’s first rodeo with the law. Judge Conley pointedly noted that Pennington was already under supervision by Wisconsin authorities when he engaged in these new offenses. The sheer volume of methamphetamine distributed, including its reach to lower-level dealers throughout central Wisconsin, combined with his illegal gun acquisition and reckless flight from police, warranted a substantial sentence, the judge stated. Ellwart previously received 72 months for his role in the distribution, and Ritchie was handed 24 months for lying during a firearm purchase.

The investigation was a collaborative effort by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Central Wisconsin Narcotics Task Force, a multi-agency team comprising 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, Wisconsin’s National Guard Counterdrug Program, and the Marathon County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Taylor L. Kraus led the prosecution.

This case serves as a stark reminder that drug trafficking carries severe consequences, and those who attempt to evade justice will face the full weight of the law. Pennington’s 12-year sentence sends a clear message: peddling poison and endangering communities won’t be tolerated in Wisconsin.