James Grandberry appears before Brown County court, October 22, 2025. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – James Grandberry’s long-delayed preliminary hearing was held Wednesday, and the suspect in a Chicago-to-Green Bay drug ring was ordered to stand trial after testimony from an officer.
Grandberry, 36, faces 14 charges, including three of manufacture or delivery of fentanyl, amphetamines and cocaine, after a bust last August. He was arrested on July 11, 2024, and charged about two weeks later. Prosecutors have since said this case was the state’s first wiretap investigation for fentanyl and at least 47 people are facing charges.
Deputy District Attorney Wendy Lemkuil said in court “an offer” was made to Grandberry but the details of that were not divulged in court. The offer apparently included a condition to waive the preliminary hearing, as defense attorney Nicholas Gasner said the offer was denied, and the defense wanted the preliminary hearing to proceed.
During the hearing, Brown County Sheriff’s drug investigator Nicholas Ronsman testified about the drug operations and identified Grandberry as one of those allegedly involved. A search warrant at his residence found three pounds of fentanyl, plus cocaine and methamphetamine, Ronsman said.
Grandberry was bound over for trial. Arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 10.
Also, Grandberry’s request to reduce the $1 million cash bond was denied Wednesday.
Preliminary hearings are typically held within 10 days, but due to the state’s inability to find an attorney for him, the hearing was repeatedly delayed – leading to his case becoming an example of the backlog in the court system.
Separately, the state Court of Appeals is considering Grandberry’s request to have the case against him dismissed, arguing his Constitutional rights were unduly violated by the 15-month delay in scheduling the preliminary hearing.
A few years ago, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled a Green Bay man’s rights had been violated because he sat in jail 113 days without a preliminary hearing. The charges against that man were able to be refiled.
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