GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A judge dismissed criminal charges against one of the suspects in a July 2024 drug case, a day after the State Public Defender’s office said it still didn’t have an attorney for her.
Kyla Sanache, 35, faced five counts, including maintaining a drug trafficking case and fentanyl delivery. She was one of several people initially charged in the Chicago-to-Green Bay operation.
Last Thursday, the Wisconsin State Public Defender sent a letter to the court saying it had made 1,033 attempts to secure an attorney for Sanache, without success.
On Friday, Judge Donald Zuidmulder dismissed the case on the court’s “own motion,” court records show.
The minute sheet cites the Butler case, which was a case where charges were dismissed because no attorney could be found.
Court records show Sanache’s preliminary hearing – which is supposed to be held within ten days of charges being filed for someone in custody – has been postponed at least ten times in the two-plus years the case has been pending.
It was not immediately clear if prosecutors will be allowed to re-file the charges. FOX 11 has not heard back from the District Attorney’s office on a request for comment.
Several other suspects in the case have already been sentenced:
- Felton Currie, who police identified as the ringleader, was sentenced to 40 years in prison
- Cheri Austin was sentenced to 15 years in prison
- Michael Oliver was sentenced to 15 years in prison
- Jessica Wright was sentenced to 14 years on prison
- Ebony Austin was sentenced to six years in prison
Another suspect, James Grandberry, is scheduled for trial next week.
Grandberry also has an appeal pending, arguing his charges should be dismissed because he waited for more than a year to get an attorney and have a preliminary hearing — something typically required within 10 days.
