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Fentanyl felony sentence issued

Brunette gets 6 months jail, 2 years probation

By R. R. Branstrom 5 min read

ESCANABA -- A young Wilson man, Colton Brunette, was sentenced Monday to six months in Delta County Jail and two years of probation following a guilty plea in August to one felony count of conspiracy to commit controlled substance – delivery/manufacture.

The case arose from an October 2024 incident in which a confidential informant received fentanyl pills from Michael Wandahsega Jr., who had gotten them from Brunette.

Brunette and Wandahsega also delivered narcotics to others, according to court statements.

As it takes time for cases involving confidential informants to reach the prosecutor's office, Delta County Prosecuting Attorney Lauren Wickman said, it wasn't until January of 2026 that Brunette was arrested for this case. In the meantime, he was caught and charged for other crimes -- including one event in February 2025, when Brunette and Tristan Halfaday were the subjects in a traffic stop that turned up hundreds of grams of illicit and controlled drugs.

Regarding the October 2024 sting, Brunette was finally arrested in January 2026 on an Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team (UPSET) warrant by the Hannahville Tribal Police Department and lodged at the Delta County Jail on a $15,000 cash/surety bond. He posted bond.

The associate, Wandahsega, was sentenced in June 2026 to 11 months in jail after he pleaded no contest to two counts of controlled substance delivery of less than 50 grams.

At Brunette's final pretrial conference in August, he pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit controlled substance – delivery/manufacture (cocaine, heroin or another narcotic), less than 50 grams.

In exchange for Brunette’s plea, Delta County Prosecuting Attorney Lauren Wickman agreed to dismiss a second conspiracy charge and a habitual offender — second offense notice — enhancement.

This week, when Brunette was sentenced, about a dozen people attended the Delta County 47th Circuit Court. Some were there because they'd lost loved ones to fentanyl overdoses and were hoping to see justice served.

Judge Economopolous acknowledged the pain that has been felt following local drug overdoses.

"The loss of your liberty is a small price to pay when compared to the enormity of your conduct and the impact that it has on the community," he told Brunette. "It’s like a ripple effect, only it’s not a pebble that you’re throwing into the pond that creates a small ripple that leads to the shore. It’s more like a boulder that disrupts the water, agitates it, and destroys everything in its path."

However, the attorney representing Brunette -- Trenton Stupak -- argued that the 26-year-old is turning his life around. He referenced Brunette's past compliance with probation and cited eight letters of character reference Stupak had received.

"These letters are from people... that have known Colton for his lifetime, and they’re people that are all walks of life ...They describe his commitment to improving himself, whether it be following through of all the court-ordered obligations of (Holmes Youthful Trainee Act) and the probation that he had, whether through counseling and learning how to deal with addiction issues, or whether it's spirituality," Stupak said.

Brunette has responsibilities, Stupak stated, requesting a lighter sentence for the young man. He is employed with the Hannahville Housing Department, where he apparently was recently promoted from laborer to apprentice. Stupak called Brunette a caregiver for his family; his father reportedly had a bad stroke earlier this year.

While "It doesn’t erase or eliminate the seriousness of the person’s conduct ... He has now a household that is a lot different from 2024," said Stupak. "On a positive note, Mr. Brunette is expecting a child, and life will be changing for the better for him later this year. And obviously, his duties, responsibilities, and obligations will increase tenfold when that occurs. So he will have a lot of reasons not to violate the two years of probation that are being recommended."

When issuing the sentence to Brunette on Monday, Economopolous said:

"I trust that you’re not going to violate probation. But if you do, we'll meet again. And if you don’t, and if this is the last criminal offense that you commit, and you’ve gotten the message, and you decide to head back to the proverbial farm of life, be a father, try to be as productive as you can, and try to do your best to ensure that not only you but nobody else in your community ever does what you did -- then all the better."

He issued Brunette's six-month imprisonment at the Delta County Jail, with credit for two days served, followed by two years of probation with such terms as: no visitation to bars, compliance with field checks and drug tests, completion of a substance abuse disorder assessment, monthly reports with a probation officer and more.

"Maybe this is the last time you’re going to cross paths with the criminal justice system. We can only hope," said Economopolous. "...Those who are aggrieved by your illegal behavior -- and frankly, that is the entirety of the community -- but certain people specifically would want nothing more than for you to be off of the criminal radar for good. This will be your opportunity to accomplish that task. The rest is up to you."

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Writer R. R. Branstrom can be reached at rbranstrom@dailypress.net.

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