United States Drug Enforcement Administration

MADISON, Wis. – John G. McGarry, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Wisconsin, and Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Antonio Dillard, 63, Chicago, pleaded guilty and was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to two years in federal prison for attempting to possess fentanyl with intent to distribute. 

In 2020, federal and state law enforcement agencies started investigating several known drug traffickers in Dane County, Wisconsin. As part of this joint investigation, the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) learned that an individual in Chicago had a person in another state send a parcel of narcotics via U.S. Mail to an address in Madison, Wisconsin.

On Dec. 7, 2020, a U.S. Postal Inspector identified the parcel, obtained a federal warrant, and searched the package. Inside, investigators found a vacuum-sealed bag that contained a white substance. The substance weighed approximately 590 grams, and the Wisconsin State Crime Lab determined it tested positive for the presence of fentanyl.  DCI agents took custody of the drugs and resealed the parcel for a controlled delivery. 

Later on Dec. 7, 2020, investigators delivered the parcel to the address in Madison.  Approximately one minute after delivering the parcel, a silver sedan with Illinois license plates pulled up to the building. A male subject exited the front passenger seat, walked towards the building, and took the parcel. Arrest units responded as the subject, later identified as Jeffrey Kemp, put the parcel into the sedan. Officers arrested Kemp and the driver of the vehicle, who agents identified as Dillard.

During a post-arrest interview, Dillard admitted that the individual in Chicago paid him to pick up the parcel and transport the drugs back to Chicago for distribution.

At sentencing, Judge Peterson explained that Dillard played a relatively minor role in a much larger enterprise that, given the total amount of drugs they trafficked, caused significant damage to the community. 

Jeffrey Kemp pleaded guilty to attempting to possess fentanyl with intent to distribute and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Peterson on May 6, 2022. In related cases, Judge Peterson sentenced Michael C. Henderson to seven years months in prison on Dec. 9, 2021 and Andre L. McClinton to 108 months in prison on March 23, 2022.

The charge against Dillard was the result of an investigation conducted by the DEA, the DCI, the Dane County Narcotics Task Force, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Chadwick M. Elgersma prosecuted this case.