A man from Bristol, Virginia, named Christopher M. Sullivan, has been sentenced after being found guilty of distributing methamphetamine on behalf of an inmate in a Georgia state prison.

In June 2025, Sullivan, aged 31, was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and using a communication facility to advance a drug trafficking crime.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in a news release Thursday that Sullivan was sentenced to 96 months (eight years) in federal prison.

Sullivan was the last of 20 defendants who had been sentenced in a drug trafficking conspiracy, the DOJ reported.

Prosecutors presented evidence during Sullivan’s trial that demonstrated his collaboration with a Georgia state prison inmate, Christopher David Johnson, along with other individuals, to transport and distribute substantial quantities of methamphetamine. The DOJ stated that those involved trafficked “kilograms of methamphetamine from Georgia into Southwest Virginia.”

Johnson reportedly used smuggled cell phones to direct the operation while he remained incarcerated. The DOJ stated Sullivan had regular contact with Johnson, bought meth from him, distributed meth for him and wired money to Mexico when Johnson told him to.

Johnson was sentenced in December 2024 to 20 years in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. That sentence was ordered to run consecutively to his state prison sentence.

According to the DOJ, the other 18 people involved have also been sentenced, with their sentences ranging from three to 15 years.