Brown County drug trafficking suspect James Grandberry. (Photo source: Brown County Jail)
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A judge entered a not guilty plea Monday for James Grandberry, a suspect in a Chicago-to-Green Bay drug ring whose preliminary hearing was delayed for more than a year because the state could not find him an attorney.
Grandberry, 36, faces 14 charges, including three of manufacture or delivery of fentanyl, amphetamines and cocaine, after a bust last August. He was arrested on July 11, 2024, and charged about two weeks later. Prosecutors have since said this case was the state’s first wiretap investigation for fentanyl and at least 47 people are facing charges.
Preliminary hearings are typically held within 10 days, but due to the state’s inability to find an attorney for him, the hearing was repeatedly delayed – leading to his case becoming an example of the backlog in the court system.
Separately, the state Court of Appeals is considering Grandberry’s request to have the case against him dismissed, arguing his Constitutional rights were unduly violated by the 15-month delay in scheduling the preliminary hearing.
Because that appeal is still pending, defense attorney Nicholas Gansner told the court Monday that Grandberry would “stand mute,” and not enter a plea.
As is the procedure, Judge Beau Liegeois then entered the not guilty plea for Grandberry.
No trial date was set. A status conference will be held Jan. 6.
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