A Manitowoc man has been sentenced for his role in a drug distribution case involving the DEA.
36-year-old Eric M. Neal was found guilty due to no contest pleas on charges of Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Deliver and Neglecting a Child, while additional charges of Manufacturing or Delivering Cocaine, Maintaining a Drug Trafficking Place, Possession of THC and Drug Paraphernalia, and Neglecting a Child were dismissed but read into the record.
Judge Mark Rohrer ordered Neal to spend three years in prison followed by seven years on extended supervision, with credit for 478 days served.
Neal was arrested alongside 36-year-old Jessica Hayes in February of 2025 after the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office collaborated with the DEA Unit out of Green Bay for three months.
Hayes was previously found guilty due to no contest pleas on charges of Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Deliver and Neglecting a Child, while six other charges were dismissed but read into the record.
She was sentenced in November to spend seven years on probation, following a four-month stint in the Manitowoc County Jail under the Huber law.
A second eight-month jail sentence was stayed, to be imposed at the agent’s discretion and upon order of the court.
