A Fort Dodge man who pleaded guilty in federal court last summer for his involvement in distributing “several pounds” of methamphetamine in the area has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.

Phillip Pringle, 53, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine; distribution of methamphetamine; and aiding and abetting another in distribution of methamphetamine, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa.

At his plea hearing in June 2023, Pringle admitted that he and others distributed “several pounds” of meth in the Fort Dodge area between January 2015 and December 2019, prosecutors reported.. In October 2019 and two occasions in 2020, Pringle was the source of drugs for an individual who had been selling meth to an undercover officer.

An arrest warrant for Pringle was issued on Oct. 19, 2021, for failing to appear for a hearing and he was a federal fugitive until he was apprehended by the United States Marshals Service on Feb. 14, 2023.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced Pringle to 15 years in federal prison on Tuesday. Pringle will also be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release following his incarceration.

The Fort Dodge Police Department and Webster County Sheriff’s Office were among the agencies involved in the investigation.