GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The Wisconsin Attorney General’s office agrees a drug suspect’s right to a timely preliminary hearing was violated by delays of more than a year, but the state doesn’t think it’s appropriate for the courts to create rules allowing cases to be dismissed when attorneys aren’t immediately found.
The case involves James Grandberry, a suspect in a major Chicago-to-Green Bay drug ring investigation. He sat in jail for more than 14 months without an attorney or a preliminary hearing, which are usually held within 10 days.
Grandberry, 36, faces 14 charges, including three of manufacture or delivery of fentanyl, amphetamines and cocaine. He was arrested July 11, 2024, and charged about two weeks later. Prosecutors have said this case was the state’s first wiretap investigation for fentanyl and at least 47 people are facing charges. Grandberry now has an attorney and has pleaded not guilty. No trial date has been set. He returns to court April 10 for a status conference…