John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Jennifer L. Roper, 48, and Leanna M. Wells, 32, both of Merrill, were sentenced Monday, June 10, by U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman for involvement in heroin distribution in the Lincoln and Marathon county areas. Roper and Wells had been indicted by a grand jury on Nov. 28, 2012, and both pleaded guilty before Judge Adelman on March 19, 2013.
Roper was sentenced to one year in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and a $1,649 fine, for conspiring with Leanna Wells and Rose Kirmsse to distribute heroin from October 2010 to November 2011. Wells was sentenced to seven months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for the distribution of heroin to an individual in Wausau on July 20, 2011.
Rose Kirmsse also pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge on April 23, 2013 and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, 2013 before Judge Adelman.
The charges against Roper, Wells, and Kirmsse were the result of an investigation conducted by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department, Merrill Police Department, and Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Anderson.