STAR JOURNAL REPORT

A grand jury in Madison has indicted two Merrill men with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and to possess methamphetamine with intend to distribute. David Brandenburg, 26, below left, was arrested in Merrill Friday morning and awaits his initial appearance before a Federal Judge.  Matthew Drake, 26, below right. will make his initial appearance in federal court in early August.

The indictment alleges that this conspiracy involved more than 500 grams of methamphetamine. If convicted Brandenburg and Drake face a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in federal prison.

With this indictment, 12 people have now been indicted on related federal charges of distributing meth in the Central Wisconsin area from June 2013 to May 2016. Previously indicted are Joseph Kujawa, 37, Oakdale, Minn., Kyle Quintana, 23, St. Paul, Minn., Jacob Loose, 24, Patrick Keenan, 29, Jaimie Pankow, 32, Anthony Rogers, 24, all of Wausau; Andrew Nelson, 31, Karen Zais, 48 and Christopher Schmeltzer, 45, of Merrill and Paul Rassmussen, 34 of Osseo.

According to a Department of Justice press release, most of the defendants face mandatory 10-year prison terms if convicted.

The charges are the result of a multi-jurisdictional investigation involving nine agencies, including Marathon County Sheriff’s Department and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department.