In a recent turn of events, Warren J. Grignon, formerly of Keshena, has pled guilty to extremely serious charges including the distribution of fentanyl and involuntary manslaughter after an inmate's death due to overdose at a tribal jail. The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Gregory J. Haanstad, detailed that Grignon's guilty pleas were entered on last Friday, before Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

As reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Grignon, while incarcerated at the Menominee Tribal Detention Center on the Menominee Indian Reservation, managed to smuggle fentanyl into the facility and distributed it to fellow inmates on December 23, 2024. Three inmates suffered overdoses from the potent substance; two were ultimately saved, but one was not as fortunate and was declared dead post-overdose. The autopsy solidified the unfortunate role of fentanyl in the fatality.

Following these events and Grignon's guilty pleas, he now faces the possibility of up to 28 years in prison along with fines and assessments. The court has also set terms of a post-imprisonment supervisory period, mandated to be not less than three years, that could endure for the remainder of his life. The sentencing hearing for Grignon has been marked for May 16, at 10:30 a.m, where Judge Griesbach will hand down the final sentence, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The investigation into this grave matter was a collaborative effort led by the Menominee Tribal Police Department and FBI, the latter of which worked closely with the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Principal prosecutorial duties have been assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Andrew J. Maier, who will be presenting the case before the United States District Court in Green Bay, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office.