John W. Andereggen, 56, of Vesper, has been sentenced to 138 months in federal prison, according to an announcement by Timothy M. O'Shea, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin.
Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson imposed the sentence. Andereggen had pleaded guilty on May 11 to possessing 500 grams or more of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
The case began in September 2022, when officers made a controlled buy of methamphetamine from Andereggen at a camper he kept in a rural wooded area of Wood County. A search of the camper found more than 600 grams of methamphetamine and 100 grams of cocaine in and around it, along with four firearms and ammunition. As a convicted felon, he was barred from possessing firearms.
Andereggen told investigators he had sold large amounts of methamphetamine and cocaine in the months before the search, prosecutors said.
At sentencing, Judge Peterson pointed to the large drug amounts and the dangerous weapons involved, including a sawed-off shotgun, and to the harm done to a small community. He also noted a criminal history of 33 offenses between the ages of 21 and 56, and said a long sentence was needed to address the seriousness of the offenses and protect the public.
The investigation involved the Wood County and Marathon County sheriff's departments, police in Marshfield, Wisconsin Rapids, Nekoosa, Stevens Point and Plover, the Central Wisconsin Drug Task Force, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anita Marie Boor prosecuted the case, in part through the federal Project Safe Neighborhoods program.
