Former Grand Chute store owner sentenced to 12.5 years in prison for fentanyl trafficking

MILWAUKEE (NBC 26) — The man who owned a now-closed Grand Chute furniture store will serve a sentence in federal prison after he was caught selling drugs in his store.

In a press release, the U.S. Department of Justice for the Eastern District of Wisconsin said a judge sentenced 32-year-old Christopher Turner to 12 ½ years in prison and eight years of probation after he pleaded guilty to several charges, including possession of fentanyl with the intent to resell, possession of weapons in furtherance of drug trafficking and possession of weapons as a convicted felon.

Turner was arrested on December 14, 2023, right outside his furniture store in Grand Chute.

According to the criminal complaint, an informant told police that Turner was a “major supplier” of the drug in the area and that he conducted most of his trafficking at the store and from his Kaukauna home.

The complaint states that authorities conducted an undercover drug buy in October by giving the informant money to buy drugs from Turner.

Authorities said they also recorded phone conversations. On December 14, police tracked down his car and arrested him outside his store.

According to the release, agents served search warrants at homes associated with Turner in Kaukauna and Menasha. Authorities found more than 18 grams of cocaine, 264 grams of illegal fentanyl and two 9mm handguns. The Justice Department says Turner is prohibited from possessing guns and ammunition under federal law because he was previously convicted of two violent robberies in Outagamie and Winnebago counties.

The case was investigated by the Lake Winnebago Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group (MEG) Narcotics Unit, the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.