United States of America v. Corvalis Stewart

Madison, Wisconsin criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with Possessing Fentanyl Intended for Distribution

Madison Man Sentenced to 16 Years for Possessing Fentanyl Intended for Distribution

On the evening of February 8, 2024, Corvalis Stewart and his codefendant Larry Williamson landed a rented Cessna 172 aircraft at the Middleton Municipal Airport, in Middleton, Wisconsin. Williamson was a private pilot who had rented the aircraft to fly to Phoenix, Arizona, to pick up drugs. Stewart was the passenger. Federal and state law enforcement received information about the flight and about Williamson and Stewart's suspicious behavior in Arizona.



Law enforcement tracked the aircraft as it returned to Middleton and landed at approximately 10:55 p.m. Williamson and Stewart got out of the airplane and walked to the parking lot. Stewart was carrying three bags, which he put in the back of his vehicle. Law enforcement detained the men and searched the bags.



Two of the bags contained 19 pounds of methamphetamine. The third bag contained approximately 200,000 fentanyl pills known on the street as M30's, which are counterfeit Oxycodone pills. This was the largest fentanyl seizure in Dane County, with an estimated street value of $2,000,000. The investigation revealed text messages showing that it was Stewart who arranged the drug pick up in Phoenix.



Judge Peterson remarked that this case involved a "startling quantity of drugs” and that fentanyl was the leading cause of overdoses. Judge Peterson found that additional aggravating factors were present in the case, including Stewart's serious criminal history, the fact that he was on federal supervision at the time of this offense, and the fact that Stewart planned the crime.



Stewart has multiple felony convictions, including five convictions for gun- related offenses. At the time of this offense, Stewart was on federal supervision for a felon in possession of a firearm conviction. Stewart's supervised release was also revoked at the sentencing and Judge Peterson sentenced him to 2 years in prison to run concurrently with the drug sentence.



Stewart's co-defendant, Larry Williamson, pleaded guilty on June 18, 2024, to possessing 500 or more grams of methamphetamine intended for distribution. On October 31, 2024, Williamson was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison.



The charges against Stewart and Williamson were the result of an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, Dane County Narcotics Task Force, and the Middleton Police Department, with the assistance of the Air Marine Operations Center in Riverside, California. Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Stephan prosecuted this case.