MADISON, WIS. - Chadwick M. Elgersma, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Nathan Hendrickson, 37, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, was sentenced on January 27, 2026, by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 10 years in prison for possessing 500 grams or more of methamphetamine intended for distribution. Hendrickson pleaded guilty to this charge on October 30, 2025.

In September 2024 and January 2025, officers with the West Central Drug Task Force received information that Hendrickson was selling pounds of methamphetamine. Officers conducted controlled buys of methamphetamine from Hendrickson on January 16, January 24, and February 12. When officers searched Hendrickson's apartment on February 12, they found approximately 678 grams of methamphetamine, a scale, $2,987 cash, and drug paraphernalia.

At sentencing, Judge Conley expressed concern that Hendrickson's "criminal conduct has been escalating." In deciding to impose a 10-year sentence, Judge Conley weighed the fact that Hendrickson had previously served only short state sentences against his now "substantial methamphetamine distribution."

The charge against Hendrickson was the result of an investigation conducted by the Chippewa County, Dunn County, Eau Claire County, and Buffalo County Sheriffs' Departments, the Eau Claire Police Department, the West Central Drug Task Force, the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Remington prosecuted this case.

Federal prosecutions by the U.S. Department of Justice involving drugs and guns are part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Operation Take Back America. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).