Cedric Sanders, a 26-year-old resident of Janesville, Wisconsin, has been sentenced to seven and a half years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge William M. Conley delivered the sentence following Sanders' guilty plea on December 5, 2024, for possessing fentanyl intended for distribution and illegally possessing firearms as a felon.
In November 2023, Sanders was involved in selling fentanyl to both a confidential informant and an undercover officer on two separate occasions. Subsequent searches in December 2023 of three homes and two vehicles linked to Sanders uncovered two firearms, firearm magazines, ammunition, a firearm suppressor, and a high-capacity firearm drum magazine. Additionally, authorities seized $12,960 in cash and approximately 396 grams of fentanyl in pill form. Due to prior felony convictions, Sanders is legally prohibited from possessing firearms.
Judge Conley emphasized that the combination of distributing fentanyl and illegal firearm possession justified a substantial prison term.
The investigation leading to these charges was conducted by the Janesville Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), with assistance from the ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force. This task force includes federal agents from ATF along with Task Force Officers from various state and local agencies within the Western District of Wisconsin. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Remington and William Levins.
This case falls under Operation Take Back America, an initiative aimed at combating illegal immigration, dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and safeguarding communities from violent crime perpetrators.