Milwaukee man sentenced for drug trafficking in Eagle River

A 47-year-old Milwaukee man has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for drug trafficking in Eagle River.

Travis Lee Young was sentenced Sept. 15 by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson for possessing with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine and maintaining a drug trafficking place. Young pleaded guilty to the charges on June 6, 2023 and his imprisonment will be followed by 5 years of supervised release.

Young was arrested on Aug. 3, 2022, at a hotel in Eagle River; he had been connected to a purchase of methamphetamine two weeks before at the same hotel. 

Over 600 grams of methamphetamine, over 940 M-30 fentanyl pills and 17 grams of cocaine were found by law enforcement, packaged for distribution.

Officers also found a loaded semiautomatic firearm underneath the mattress of the bed. Young’s DNA was found on the firearm.

A witness involved in the investigation said they had purchased methamphetamine from Young before, the same witness having  driven Young to and from Milwaukee on drug-related trips around Wisconsin.

A search of Young’s cellphone revealed that Young had been having multiple conversations about drug trafficking.

He was convicted in 2017 of the felony offenses of possession of a firearm by a felon and a burglary in Milwaukee County.

Young was serving the extended supervision portion of those sentences at the time of his arrest and had been convicted of eight felonies before the Aug. 3, 2022 arrest in Eagle River.

After his arrest, Young attempted to persuade witnesses to change their stories by sending letters from the jail, instructing them to recant and blame a different individual for the drugs and firearm, according to a press release announcing his sentencing.

The charges against Young were the result of an investigation conducted by the Vilas County Sheriff’s Office, Eagle River Police Department and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.