Sterling woman pleads guilty to dealing meth, sentenced to 6 years in prison

A Sterling woman has been sentenced to up to six years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to delivering meth.Makennah VJ Ristau, 27, pleaded guilty in Whiteside County Circuit Court to meth delivery in two separate cases: one count of delivering between 15 and 100 grams of meth in December 2025, a Class X felony; and one count of delivering 5 to 15 grams of meth, a Class 1 felony, in April. Sentencing guidelines allowed Whiteside County Judge Jennifer Rangel-Kelly to sentence Ristau to six to 30 years in prison on the Class X felony and from four to 15 years on the Class 1 felony. Instead, Rangel-Kelly sentenced Ristau to six years in prison on each charge, with those sentences to be served concurrently. Rangel-Kelly could have ordered her to serve the sentences consecutively. Rangel-Kelly said she agreed to approve the plea deal because Ristau’s criminal history was “basically nothing.”“That is why I am agreeing to this plea agreement,” the judge said.Under the plea deal, one cou