United States Drug Enforcement Administration

MADISON, Wis. – Robert J. Bell, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration’s Chicago Field Division, and Scott C. Blader, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Bounmee Thor, 33, of Madison, Wisconsin was sentenced last week by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to six years in federal prison for possessing with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Thor pleaded guilty to the charge on June 28, 2019.

In the fall of 2018, the West Central Drug Task Force received information from the DEA in Minnesota that Thor was bringing methamphetamine from St. Paul, Minnesota to an individual in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. In October of 2018, law enforcement agents obtained a warrant to place a GPS tracker device on Thor’s vehicle and confirmed that Thor was making multiple trips between St. Paul and Eau Claire. 

On Nov. 27, 2018 Thor was a passenger in a vehicle stopped by Eau Claire Police for speeding. He initially provided a false name but eventually admitted his real identity. He was arrested on an outstanding probation warrant and searched. The search revealed 58 grams of a substance that tested positive for methamphetamine. Thor provided a post-Miranda confession confirming that the majority of methamphetamine he possessed was for redelivery to another person, whom he would not identify. At sentencing, the Court found that Thor was responsible for possessing and distributing a total of 285 grams of methamphetamine in October and November of 2018. At the time, Thor was on state probation for felony drug distribution.    

Despite Thor’s unwillingness to name the person he was delivering methamphetamine to on Nov. 27, 2018, law enforcement agents were able to identify that individual as Sylvia M. Erickson of Eau Claire. On March 13, 2019, a federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin returned a seven-count indictment against Erickson, charging various drug and gun-related offenses. On Aug. 16, 2019 Erickson pleaded guilty to distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on Jan. 7, 2019. Her sentencing is scheduled before Judge Conley on Oct. 29, 2019.

The charges against Thor and Erickson were the result of an investigation conducted by the West Central Drug Task Force, the DEA, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Eau Claire Police Department, with assistance from the Eau Claire County District Attorney’s Office. The prosecution of both cases has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith P. Duchemin.

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