United States Drug Enforcement Administration

MADISON, Wis. – John G. McGarry, the Assistant Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Wisconsin, and Timothy M. O’Shea, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Doua Moua, 37, from Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to six years in prison for possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Moua pleaded guilty to this charge on Aug. 3, 2021.

On Dec. 10, 2020, an officer from the Buffalo County Sheriff’s Department pulled over a car driven by Moua for a cracked windshield and reckless driving. The officer confirmed that Moua and his passenger, Zakaree Stelzer, both had active state arrest warrants.

Officers searched Moua’s car and found a toolbox in the trunk that contained approximately 465 grams, or just over 1 pound of methamphetamine. During post-arrest interviews, Moua and Stelzer admitted buying the methamphetamine together in the Twin Cities. Moua and Stelzer both stated that they intended to sell the methamphetamine in the Wisconsin Rapids area. 

At the sentencing hearing, Judge Conley noted that Moua was on active state supervision at the time of his arrest for a prior conviction for methamphetamine trafficking. Judge Conley also noted that Moua had been released from prison less than one year before he was arrested in Buffalo County and his drug trafficking was “escalating.” Judge Conley also noted that Moua’s previous three-year prison sentence for methamphetamine trafficking failed to deter him from selling methamphetamine.

Stelzer pleaded guilty on Aug. 26, 2021 to possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute and will be sentenced by Judge Conley on Nov. 22, 2021.  

The charge against Moua was a result of an investigation conducted by the West Central Drug Task Force, Buffalo County Sheriff’s Department, Mondovi Police Department, and the DEA.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Wegner handled the prosecution.