A former Madison firefighter who was facing four drug felony charges and had allegedly sold cocaine out of the fire station where he worked instead pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors and a lower-level felony on Monday and was sentenced to two years of probation.
Trevor J. Wiggins, 48, was charged April 12 with maintaining a drug trafficking place, possession of cocaine with intent to deliver, manufacturing and delivering cocaine as a party to a crime, and possessing narcotics.
Wiggins
The misdemeanors he pleaded guilty to are both for simple possession of cocaine and the felony is for dealing cocaine in amounts smaller than he was originally charged with selling.
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The hearing Monday had been to hear a motion by Wiggins’ attorney to suppress evidence, but Wiggins instead decided to take the plea deal that threatens prison time if he violates his probation, according to online court records. The judge also delayed accepting Wiggins’ guilty plea to the felony to see if he succeeds at his first year of probation.
Wiggins does not have a serious prior criminal record in Wisconsin, but over a decade while working as a firefighter did have a drunken driving conviction and repeatedly drove a fire truck with a suspended license.
Because of these incidents and a history of showing up to work late, Wiggins was suspended three times but did not lose his job, though the Police and Fire Commission declined to give him a promotion in 2018, according to city personnel records.
Wiggins was put on paid leave two days before the drug charges were filed. An internal department investigation later ended with a recommendation to fire him, but he was instead allowed to resign effective May 11. He did not receive a buyout but did collect accrued benefits city employees typically collect when they resign, including a payout of about $9,000 in remaining vacation time.
The criminal complaint filed April 12 detailed four controlled drug purchases between Wiggins and investigators from February to April of this year, deals completed by cooperating witnesses using money from the Dane County Narcotics Task Force. The complaint says investigators bought just under four grams of mixed cocaine and fentanyl.
A witness who told officers he used cocaine recreationally told investigators that he had typically bought the drugs from Wiggins at Wiggins’ house. A few times, he said, Wiggins had sold to him at a Kwik Trip, and sometimes the transactions took place at the South Point Road fire station, the complaint said.
In February, a “confidential informant” took the witness to the fire station. He went inside for less than 30 seconds and returned to the informant’s car with cocaine.
Text message transcripts included in the complaint list interactions between Wiggins and the witness allegedly setting up cocaine purchases April 9 and 10.
Investigators carried out a search warrant in Wiggins’ house and car on April 11, recovering multiple guns, fentanyl pills, white cocaine and fentanyl powder, steroids and drug paraphernalia among other things. Wiggins had been home when the search happened but didn’t come to the door.
