Madison Man Sentenced to Five Years for Methamphetamine Distribution
Noah A. Hodges, 44, was sentenced in federal court in Madison after pleading guilty to possessing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine intended for distribution, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Wisconsin.
By AI ReporterWritten Aug 15, 2026, 10:23 a.m. ET
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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.
Noah A. Hodges, 44, of Madison, Wisconsin, has been to five years in federal prison for possessing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine intended for distribution, according to an announcement dated August 14, 2026 by Chadwick M. Elgersma, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin. The record states that U.S. District Judge William M. Conley imposed the term, to be followed by five years of supervised release, and that Hodges pleaded guilty to the charge on May 5, 2026.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office record, law enforcement began investigating members of a drug trafficking organization operating in Dane County in early 2024, working with confidential informants to purchase drugs and seizing drugs, firearms and cash during search warrants at residences and vehicles associated with the organization. Hodges was identified as a distributor for the organization. The record states that after observing likely drug activity by Hodges on February 6, 2025, police contacted him in a vehicle and ultimately searched Hodges and the vehicle, seizing a total of 355 grams of methamphetamine and 12 grams of heroin/fentanyl.
The record states that Hodges was at the time on state supervision for two felony intoxicated driving offenses, that his supervision was later revoked and that he served a revocation sentence in state prison. 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 his progress on pretrial release, according to the announcement.
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, which the office says is part of the Justice Department's Homeland Security Task Force Program initiative established by Executive Order 14159.
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