LA CROSSE, Wis. (WFRV) – United States District Judge William M. Conley sentenced a 59-year-old Wisconsin man to 90 months in prison for multiple methamphetamine offenses.
Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced the Tuesday sentencing of Toudeng Thao of La Crosse, just under three months after he pleaded guilty to charges of distributing meth and possessing meth for distribution.
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On January 25, 2024, Thao and his codefendant Joua Thao were arrested in as they were returning from Minnesota where they picked up about 443 grams of meth for distribution.
The two had previously been married but divorced at the time. During the six months before Toudeng Thao was arrested, he had distributed and or possessed more than 5.5 kilograms meth.
Thao claimed he acquired meth from people in Minnesota, California, Canada and Mexico, also saying that he supplied six distributors. Controlled purchases led the two to sell a confidential informant over 200 grams of meth in La Crosse.
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During that transaction, Toudeng Thao had a firearm and sought to traffic more of them to suppliers. Judge Conley said he was ‘struck’ by Thao’s statements that rationalized his turn to drugs, also citing Thao’s criminal history as puzzling due to violent characteristics.
Thao’s violent history against his family led Judge Conley to the 90-month sentence. Joua Thao pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years of probation for her role.
