Christopher Kentrell Jones, 33, of Columbia, was sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison for cocaine distribution and possessing a firearm during a narcotics trafficking offense.
The evidence gathered throughout the investigation revealed that agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Weapons, and Explosives made four controlled purchases of cocaine and two controlled purchases of weapons from Jones at a property on Colleton St. in Columbia.
During one of the purchases, Jones sold a weapon as well as approximately one ounce of cocaine.
A grand jury indicted Jones on controlled purchase charges, and when the ATF and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department apprehended him, he was found in possession of 125 oxycodone tablets and around 1 ounce of crack cocaine.
While Jones was in detention on federal charges, he used phone conversations and messages to recruit a coconspirator to continue trafficking cocaine, crack cocaine, oxycodone, and marijuana from his Columbia house. ATF issued a search warrant at Jones’ home, discovering about one ounce of crack cocaine, five ounces of cocaine, 22 ounces of marijuana, and five guns.
Jones has already been convicted of crack cocaine possession and intent to distribute cocaine.
United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. sentenced Christopher Jones to 148 months in prison, followed by three years of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
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