Leader of Southwest Virginia Methamphetamine Conspiracy To Serve 20 Years in Federal Prison Following His Release from Prison in Georgia

ABINGDON, Va. – The leader of a 20-member conspiracy that distributed numerous kilograms of methamphetamine throughout southwest Virginia and eastern Tennessee was sentenced today in federal court.

Christopher “CJ” Johnson, 47, of Bristol, Tennessee, previously pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Today he was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, which he will serve following his release from the Georgia Department of Corrections.   

According to court documents, in 2020 Johnson and Noah Bryan Horn were arrested in Georgia with four kilograms of methamphetamine, two pistols, and heroin.  As a result, Johnson received a 25-year prison sentence in the Georgia Department of Corrections.  But, by mid-2022, Johnson had launched another methamphetamine conspiracy.  From prison in Georgia, Johnson used a contraband cell phone to communicate with people outside of prison to coordinate his multi-state drug trafficking scheme. Co-conspirators would travel to Georgia to collect large amounts of methamphetamine from Johnson’s designated sources, send payments to Johnson via CashApp and other means, and then bring the drugs back to southwest Virginia and eastern Tennessee for further distribution. Johnson also coordinated deliveries of fentanyl and ecstasy during the conspiracy.  

At one point, Johnson was responsible for a large percentage of the overall methamphetamine market in both the Bristol, Virginia and Bristol, Tennessee areas.

Others who have previously pleaded guilty as part of the conspiracy included individuals from Virginia and Tennessee: Noah Bryan Horn, Nicholas Alexander Courtney, Michael Paul Brown, Jeremy Wayne Maxfield, Kenneth Lee Trivette, Olivia Abigail Coleman, Kayla Cheyanne Winebarger, Sheenah Amber Rogers, Joey Dean Webb, Diamond Snow Booher, Amber Leigh Phipps, Morgan Paige Perry, Eric Dale Whisman, Kedrick Lee Dingus, Christopher Michael Sullivan, Woodrow America Ritchie, Ashley Lynn Young, Patricia Ann Smoot, and Tabitha Nichole Satterfield.

United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh, and Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Washington Division, made the announcement.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Virginia State Police, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, the Smyth County Sheriff’s Office, the Bristol (Virginia) Police Department, and other law enforcement agencies in Georgia and Tennessee investigated the case, including Tennessee’s Bristol Police Department, Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, and 2nd Judicial Drug Task Force as well as the Georgia State Patrol.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Corey Hall and Whit Pierce are prosecuting the case.