Cocaine trafficker sentenced to 12 years

Aaron Snyder, The Daily Independent, Ashland, Ky.
Updated ·1 min read

CATLETTSBURG An Ashland man in his late 30s pleaded guilty Thursday in Boyd County Circuit Court to trafficking cocaine, possessing a handgun as a convicted felon and having drug paraphernalia.

Judge John Vincent sentenced Christopher Williams, 38, to 12 years in jail.

Williams, who appeared via video conference from Western Regional in Barboursville, West Virginia, was initially charged with trafficking fentanyl and an additional count of handgun possession as a convicted felon. The Commonwealth dismissed those charges after labs revealed the drug Williams dealt was solely cocaine — greater than 4 grams of the substance. The prosecution, per law, had to decrease the gun possession charges from two to one.

Williams admitted to the crimes, which occurred in May 2023. Vincent informed him he could’ve been sentenced for up to 10 years on the charges of trafficking cocaine and possessing the firearm. Williams was sentenced to six years on each of those counts, with the terms running consecutively.