A Sterling man has been sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison for attempting to traffic methamphetamine from California to Illinois.

Tony Clapp, 62, was sentenced Thursday to 15 years and eight months in federal prison. The sentencing was part of a 2025 plea agreement in which he pled guilty to one count of attempting to possess with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, according to a news release.

In his plea agreement, Clapp admitted that in February 2022, he arranged for the purchase and delivery of approximately 3 kilograms of pure methamphetamine from a source in California. He committed that crime while serving a term of court-supervised release following a 2008 federal prison sentence for distribution of cocaine, according to the release.

The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston and was announced by Andrew Boutros, United States attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Shane R. Catone, special agent in charge of the Chicago Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Ladd.