Three charged in Forest County overdose death

Three residents of the City of Crandon have been charged with first-degree reckless homicide/drug delivery (as party to the crime) in connection with the overdose death of a 27-year-old man in the Town of Nashville in April 2023.

The Forest County district attorney’s office filed the charges against Steven P. Tuckwab, 65, Dakota S. Tuckwab, 33 and Sheena R. Tuckwab, 40, on Sept. 11, according to a Forest County sheriff’s office press release.

According to the release, the sheriff’s office received a 911 call on April 2, 2023 reporting a possible drug overdose on Daisy Lane in the Township of Nashville. Upon arrival it was determined that a 27-year-old male was deceased. The scene was turned over to the Forest County Drug Task Force and an investigation was conducted.

“In August of 2023 a joint agency drug overdose suppression and investigation program was jointly initiated in Forest County,” the release states. “The Forest County Drug Task Force began working with the Wisconsin National Guard’s Counter Drug Program, the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Sokaogon Chippewa Community Police Department. They began identifying drug overdose cases and drug overdose deaths to further investigate with the focused analytical assistance and guidance of the Wisconsin National Guard Counter Drug Program.  The first case selected was the April 2, 2023 overdose death.”

After a “very in-depth and thorough investigation including multiple search warrants and subpoenas, over 1,000 hours spent reviewing video footage and phone calls, forensic analysis of multiple electronic devices, several interviews and surveillance” the investigation was concluded and presented to the Forest County District attorney’s office which filed the criminal complaints against the three Tuckwabs.

The defendants, all of whom have other pending drug-related cases, are not expected to appear in court on the reckless homicide charges until December, according to court records.

The Class C felony carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.