Madison Man Sentenced to More Than Seven Years in Prison for Trafficking Fentanyl While on Supervision for Prior Gun Offense

MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Kendal J. Harris, 30, Madison, Wisconsin, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to just over five years in federal prison for repeatedly selling fentanyl to an undercover police officer while out on bail in a state homicide case and while under federal supervision after serving a  prison sentence for illegally possessing a firearm. Judge Conley sentenced Harris to an additional two years in prison after revoking his federal supervision for the prior firearm conviction. The prison terms will be followed by 5 years of supervised release. Harris pleaded guilty to the fentanyl distribution charge on January 10, 2024.

Between July 11, 2023, and August 17, 2023, Harris sold fentanyl in increasingly larger quantities to an undercover police officer in Dane County, Wisconsin. The last buy involved Harris selling 49 grams of powdered fentanyl to the undercover officer.

On August 24, 2023, Madison police officers executed a search warrant at Harris’s residence in Madison and found over 500 fentanyl pills in a drawer in a children’s bedroom.  Officers found another 1,000 fentanyl pills in the kitchen closet, and a package of fentanyl pills in a toilet.

At the time of these events, Harris was on federal supervision after serving over four years in prison for illegally possessing a firearm as a felon. Harris was also out on bond for a Dane County homicide case. The homicide case is still pending, and Harris is presumed innocent of the charge. Trial is set for August 5, 2024.

At sentencing, Judge Conley highlighted Harris’ extensive history of violence and gang involvement. He noted that this was Harris’ second federal conviction in less than five years and that he got involved with drug dealing just months after getting out of prison.

The charge against Harris was the result of an investigation conducted by the Dane County Narcotics Task Force and the Madison Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven P. Anderson prosecuted this case. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.