Chicago drug trafficker arrested in Madison, sentenced to 5 years in prison

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - The US Department of Justice (DOJ) sentenced a Chicago man Tuesday that was found guilty of possessing over 50 grams of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it.

Thirty-six-year-old Martell Mitchum was arrested in June of 2020 after crashing a car into a construction zone on I-39/90 when police smelled marijuana coming from Mitchum and searched his vehicle, DOJ said.

During the search, officials said a trooper found a loaded handgun, a bag of methamphetamine, multiple bags of marijuana in a safe on the front passenger seat, a loaded magazine on the steering column and body armor on the front passenger floorboard.

The trooper also found additional bags of marijuana and meth throughout the car, digital scales and three cases of 9mm handgun ammunition.

Officials said they seized 106 grams of meth and almost five pounds of marijuana in total.

The DOJ said the dangerous nature of Mitchum’s offense, the loaded firearm and amount of drugs were all taken into account during the sentencing. The case was investigated by the Wisconsin State Patrol.

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