Wausau Pilot & Review
Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that a Wausau man will spend five years in prison on federal drug charges, the result of an undercover operation in 2021.
Kou Yang, 27, was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to five years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
Yang pleaded guilty to this charge on October 5, 2022.
In August 2021, an undercover police officer bought large quantities of methamphetamine from Yang on two separate occasions. After Yang’s arrest, he admitted to purchasing half pound and pound quantities of methamphetamine from local methamphetamine dealers for later distribution to customers.
In sentencing Yang, Judge Conley highlighted that Yang was under state supervision at the time of his arrest for drug trafficking and had learned very little from his prior conviction and prison sentence. He further stressed that, in addition to drug trafficking, the defendant had a significant criminal history involving domestic violence and firearm possession.
The charge against Yang was the result of an investigation conducted by the Central Wisconsin Narcotics Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Reinhard prosecuted this case.
