STUDENT ACCUSED OF TRAFFICKING MARIJUANA

A 21-year-old college student accused of transporting marijuana into La
Crosse in shipments as large as 40 pounds was charged Thursday with three
felony counts that carry a maximum penalty of more than 30 years in prison.

Karl R. Stauffacher, who is a resident of Platteville, Wis., according to
the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Student & Staff Directory, was
arrested after police raided his La Crosse home in the 2800 block of East
Fairchild Street on Nov. 7. He was charged with conspiracy to deliver
marijuana in excess of 2,500 grams, engaging in racketeering activities and
possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, less than 500 grams.

A criminal complaint filed against Stauffacher lays out the story of a
young college student who was dealing high-grade marijuana by the pound and
pocketing thousands of dollars.

Using confidential informants from several locations in Wisconsin,
authorities drafted a complaint that claims Stauffacher's Madison business
partner drove a Land Rover and a Lexus and that Stauffacher kept three
residences in La Crosse: one to live in, one to keep his marijuana in and a
third where he had thousands of dollars in cash stocked away in a bedroom safe.

Confidential informants said while still attending UW-L, Stauffacher would
travel to Portland, Ore., where he would obtain 40 pounds of marijuana and
sell it to buyers in Wisconsin for $5,000 per pound, according to the
complaint.

When agents with the Division of Narcotics Enforcement raided two La Crosse
residences in November, they found more than $50,000 in cash and more than
1,500 grams of marijuana.

Stauffacher, who declined to talk to officers upon his arrest in November,
is free on a $1,000 signature bond.

During Thursday's court hearing, La Crosse County Circuit Judge Michael
Mulroy scheduled a preliminary hearing for 11 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 30.