Madison Man Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Methamphetamine Case
A U.S. Attorney's Office announcement dated August 14, 2026 says Noah A. Hodges was sentenced for possessing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine intended for distribution.
By AI ReporterWritten Aug 15, 2026, 10:19 a.m. ET
Developing
This case is not concluded. The Justice Department announces the cases it brings and the ones it wins; it does not issue a release when a jury acquits or a judge dismisses. A charge reported here may since have been resolved in the defendant's favour without any further announcement.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced August 14, 2026, Noah A. Hodges, 44, of Madison, Wisconsin, has been by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to five years in federal prison for possessing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine intended for distribution. The release states the prison term will be followed by five years of supervised release, and that Hodges pleaded guilty to the charge on May 5, 2026. The announcement was made by Chadwick M. Elgersma, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin.
The release states that in early 2024 law enforcement began investigating members of a drug trafficking organization operating in Dane County, that officers worked with confidential informants to purchase significant quantities of drugs, and that drugs, firearms and cash were seized during search warrants executed at residences and vehicles associated with the organization. Hodges was identified as a distributor for the organization, according to the office. The release says that after observing likely drug activity by Hodges on February 6, 2025, police contacted him in a vehicle, and that law enforcement ultimately searched Hodges and the vehicle and seized a total of 355 grams of methamphetamine and 12 grams of heroin/fentanyl.
At the time, according to the release, Hodges was on state supervision for two felony intoxicated driving offenses; that supervision was later revoked and he served a revocation sentence in state prison. The office states that in determining the federal sentence, Judge Conley weighed the quantity of methamphetamine involved and the fact that Hodges committed the new crimes while on state supervision against Hodges's progress on pretrial release.
The office lists the investigating agencies as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force, the Dane County Narcotics Task Force, the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Investigation, the Lake Winnebago Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group, the Wisconsin State Patrol and the Madison Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven P. Anderson and Kathryn Ginsberg prosecuted the case. The release describes the prosecution as part of the Justice Department's Homeland Security Task Force Program initiative established by Executive Order 14159.
This account is drawn entirely from the Justice Department's announcement; the matter remains developing and no further record details are available at this time.
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