60-YEAR-OLD FROM TOWN OF OTTAWA HAD 45 POUNDS OF MARIJUANA IN HIS HOME

Man Receives Eight Years In Prison On Drug Charges

Waukesha - A Town of Ottawa man with past convictions for tax evasion and
eluding police has been sentenced to eight years in prison for possessing
one of the largest stashes of marijuana ever seized by Waukesha County
agents.

Ulysus Meredith, 60, who also made headlines about five years ago when his
Rottweiler Baron bit neighbors and killed that family's pet goat, told a
judge last week that he was not the criminal a prosecutor portrayed him to
be.

"The picture that he paints (of) me is not the true picture," Meredith told
a judge during his sentencing on drug charges.

"Sure, I was on drugs, I got hooked up on this marijuana thing," said
Meredith, a former farmer who paid his neighbor $20,000 to settle a lawsuit
prompted by his dog biting a man and his 12-year-old daughter. "I can't
honestly say how long I did (sell drugs) but it was not as the district
attorney said."

But Assistant District Attorney Dennis Krueger said that evidence showed
that Meredith was heavily involved in drugs and earned substantial profits
from the enterprise.

More than 45 pounds of marijuana was seized from Meredith's Town of Ottawa
home on May 18, 1994, after Meredith led police on a high-speed chase
halfway across the county.

The chase ended when Meredith rammed a Summit squad car with two officers
inside at his home, W395-S4083 County Highway Z, near the Jefferson County
border. No one was injured.

Sheriff's deputies found cocaine in Meredith's home, and obtained a search
warrant. When they returned, they found the marijuana, drug records, six
firearms and nearly $20,000 in cash. Deputies also found $14,000 in savings
bonds.

When Meredith was sentenced in 1996 for the chase, he blamed a cocaine high
for his actions. He said he was hearing voices "from a supreme being" that
told him he was on his way to see the pope and the officers were his
escort.

For the chase, Circuit Judge Joseph Wimmer sentenced him to 20 months in
prison followed by probation. Waukesha County prosecutors referred the drug
case to the U.S. Attorney's Office for federal prosecution, where penalties
would far exceed those available in state court.

The case ultimately was bumped back to local prosectors, who charged
Meredith.

"He's not going to profit from the sale of drugs in this county," Krueger
told Circuit Judge Mark Gempeler.

Meredith pleaded no contest to the drug charges Oct. 16 after more than a
year of legal motions and maneuvers. He faced a maximum 10-year prison term
when sentenced.

Gempeler said the only reason he didn't mete out the maximum term was
because Meredith resolved the case without a trial.

"This is not . . . youthful recreational use," Gempeler said. "The amount
of marijuana that was discovered is significant."

The judge also expressed skepticism about Meredith's claim that the drug
trafficking was a brief stint. He noted that Meredith earlier had been
convicted of federal tax evasion in Michigan.

Meredith also was arrested at Mitchell International Airport in 1983 for
obstructing security guards, and a search of his luggage found $131,000 in
cash.

"Prison is necessary," Gempeler said. "This was a profitable enterprise."

Meredith said he was prepared to serve another prison term.

"There aren't words to express how sorry I am," he said. "I'll never do it
again."