Madison police detail investigation into how marijuana trafficking sparked violent crime spree

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – Madison police have detailed how a series of shootings and violent crimes from summer 2020 were connected to a marijuana trafficking operation and a theft that sparked retaliation.

A criminal complaint filed May 27th in Dane County Circuit Court lays out the alleged connection between multiple people now facing charges. Investigators say a Snapchat account called “madgas” or “themadgasplug” was directing car-to-car shootings, arson, attempted robbery and burglary across Madison.

Police say the account belonged to Apolinar Gatica. Investigators allege he was running a marijuana trafficking enterprise and that the violence was retaliation after someone stole large amounts of THC products from a storage unit he controlled.

Timeline of alleged crimes

On June 17th, 2020, a U-Haul storage unit at 22 Atlas Court in Madison was burglarized. The unit was rented to Dakota Grimsled and contained THC products. Police say that theft triggered what came next…

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