John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced today the unsealing of an indictment returned on May 11, 2016, by a grand jury sitting in Madison, which charges five people with conspiring to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The indictment also charged various defendants with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine on two different occasions.
The indictment alleges that from June 2013 to February 2016, the following individuals conspired to distribute methamphetamine and to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute:
1. Joseph Kujawa, 37, Oakdale, MN;
2. Kyle Quintana, 23, St. Paul, MN;
3. Jacob Loose, 24, Wausau, Wis.;
4. Patrick Keenan, 29, Wausau; and
5. Jaimie Pankow, 32, Wausau.
The indictment alleges that with respect to Kujawa, Quintana, Loose and Keenan, the amount involved in the conspiracy attributable to them is 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.
The indictment also charges that on June 4, 2014, Kujawa, Quintana, and Loose with possessing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. The third count of the indictment charges that on Feb. 28, 2016, Kujawa, Keenan, and Pankow possessed methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.
Kujawa and Quintana were arrested early Friday morning in Minnesota by FBI agents executing federal arrest warrants. They were both transported to Madison and made their initial appearance late Friday afternoon in U.S. District Court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen L. Crocker. Both defendants were detained.
Jacob Loose was arrested early this morning in Wausau by agents with DCI, FBI and the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office. He was transported to Madison and made his initial appearance this afternoon before Judge Crocker. Loose was detained pending trial.
In an earlier indictment returned by the grand jury on March 9, 2016, Keenan and Pankow were charged with possessing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The indictment unsealed today supersedes the March 9 indictment. Keenan and Pankow have been in federal custody since the March 9 indictment was returned.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of life in federal prison on the conspiracy charge. Kujawa, Quintana, and Loose each face a maximum penalty of 40 years in federal prison on the June 4, 2014 charge of possessing 50 grams or more, and Kujawa, Keenan, and Pankow each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on the Feb. 28, 2016 possession with intent to distribute charge.
The charges against these defendants are the result of an investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation; Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Drug Enforcement Administration; Marathon County Sheriff’s Department, Special Investigations Unit; Wausau Police Department; and IRS Criminal Investigation. The prosecution of this case will be handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Graber.