MADISON, Wis. (WFRV) – A 34-year-old Wisconsin man was sentenced to over a dozen years behind bars for possessing several pounds of heroin with the intent to distribute it.

U.S. District Judge James Peterson sentenced Dery McDuffy from Madison to 13 years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to the drug charge and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon back in June.

Court records show that in September and October 2022, McDuffy sold large amounts of heroin and methamphetamine in transactions recorded by local law enforcement and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

On October 12, after McDuff delivered a pound of methamphetamine and five ounces of heroin, officers trailed him to a storage unit he had rented on Madison’s west side. Officers arrested McDuffy and searched the unit, finding around four pounds of heroin and one and a half pounds of cocaine.

In addition, law enforcement found five guns with ammunition, which McDuffy was not allowed to be in possession of as he is a convicted felon in the state of Illinois.

During the sentencing, Judge Peterson explained that a primary priority in sentencing McDuffy was the protection of the public from the dangerous drugs he was selling, which degraded the community and exploited the illness of drug users.

Labeling McDuffy a moderately high-level dealer who possessed firearms and had an unrelenting criminal history, Peterson concluded that McDuffy was a danger to the community, necessitating a significant but fair sentence.