BRISTOL, Va. (WJHL) — A Bristol, Virginia man who was convicted of distributing methamphetamine for an inmate in a Georgia state prison has been sentenced.

Christopher M. Sullivan, 31, was convicted in June 2025 of one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of using a communication facility in furtherance of 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.

During Sullivan’s trial, prosecutors used evidence to show that Sullivan had conspired with an inmate in a Georgia state prison, Christopher David Johnson, and other people to move and distribute large amounts of methamphetamine. According to the DOJ, 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.