GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The three men, who prosecutors call top tier dealers in a busted Brown County cocaine ring, appeared in court for the first time Friday afternoon.
The Green Bay men are three of the 15 people who were arrested Tuesday as part of the cocaine bust.
Prosecutors say those arrests and nine executed search warrants were part of a several month investigation.
The accused ringleaders, Charles Howard, his brother James Allen, and their cousin, Joshua Cook, appeared in court for probable cause hearings. No charges have been filed in connection with this case.
In court, Howard was issued a cash bond of $250,000. Allen and Cook were issued $150,000 cash bonds.
They are accused of being part of a majority of the 43 controlled cocaine purchases law enforcement conducted in this investigation.
Prosecutors say Charles Howard sold more than two ounces of cocaine to informants from June through January.
“The defendant involved much of his family in this organization: brothers, sons, nephews, as well as acquaintances and there appears to have been a substantial profit as well as part of this organization,” said Caleb Saunders, an assistant district attorney for Brown County.
Howard and Allen’s father spoke with FOX 11 after court.
“You’re noticing they’re saying grams of this, 1 1/2 grams of this, 2 1/2 grams of that, there is no big cartel,” said James Allen Sr. of Milwaukee. “They are trying to make it look like they are getting a whole bunch of drugs off the street and they just took down this whole big drug cartel when it really isn’t.”
Between Friday and Wednesday, 11 of the 15 people arrested in this case have now made court appearances.
Formal charges are expected to be filed at the end of the month.