MADISON, Wis. (WFRV) – A 56-year-old Wisconsin man was sentenced to prison on Wednesday for gun and drug charges he pleaded guilty to back in May.

According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin, 56-year-old John W. Andereggen from Vesper, Wisconsin, will spend the next 11.5 years behind bars for possessing with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and possessing a firearm as a felon.

Officials say that in September 2022, law enforcement officers conducted a controlled buy of meth from Andereggen at a camper that he kept in the rural woods of Wood County.

Officers obtained a search warrant for the camper and discovered over 600 grams of meth and 100 grams of cocaine in and around the trailer. They also recovered four firearms and ammunition.

At the time of the search, Andereggen was a convicted felon and was prohibited from possessing firearms. He was interviewed by local law enforcement and admitted to selling large amounts of meth and cocaine in the months leading up to the search.

At Andereggen’s sentencing, Judge James Peterson noted the highly aggravating circumstances of the offenses, including the heavy drug amounts and the presence of dangerous weapons, including a sawed-off shotgun.

Peterson also noted Andereggen’s lengthy criminal history, which spanned 33 criminal offenses from age 21 to age 56. Ultimately, Judge Peterson ruled that a long sentence was needed to address the severe nature of the drug and gun offenses and to protect the public from Andereggen’s criminal nature.

The charges against Andereggen were the result of an investigation conducted by the Wood County Sheriff’s Office, the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office, Marshfield, Wisconsin Rapids, Nekoosa, Stevens Point, and Plover Police Departments, the Central Wisconsin Drug Task Force, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.