Vincent Phillips, Methamphetamine Trafficking, Wisconsin 2023

Methamphetamine Trafficking Epidemic in Wisconsin

A Rockford man has been sentenced to 90 months in prison for possessing with intent to distribute and distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Vincent Phillips, 52, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley on February 27, 2024.

Phillips was first arrested on February 18, 2023, in Columbia County, Wisconsin, with over 240 grams of methamphetamine packaged for distribution found in his vehicle. Officers also discovered drug paraphernalia, including a scale, razor, and baggies in the car.

Phillips was charged in State court for this conduct and released from jail on a cash bond later that month. However, his troubles continued after a confidential informant disclosed to law enforcement that Phillips was selling methamphetamine and heroin in the Baraboo area. Law enforcement conducted three controlled buys from Phillips using this confidential informant, with Phillips selling about 50 grams of methamphetamine during each buy.

When arrested in April, officers found over 200 grams of methamphetamine and 38 grams of cocaine in his vehicle. In addition, Phillips was in possession of $2,297 in U.S. currency, $800 of which had been provided by law enforcement to the confidential informant to purchase drugs from Phillips.

The charges against Phillips were the result of an investigation conducted by the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Ginsberg prosecuted this case.

Phillips has a lengthy criminal history, with the Judge remarking that he has been in and out of prison for most of his adult life and is considered a career offender. The Judge ordered a sentence that he felt reflected the seriousness of Phillips’s criminal history and his conduct in these offenses.

This is Phillips’s second federal conviction. In 2002, Phillips was convicted in the Northern District of Illinois for an armed bank robbery and was sentenced to prison.

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