An Augusta man has been sentenced to nearly 10 years in federal prison for a scheme that distributed methamphetamine in the Augusta area.
Christopher Allen Marshall, 34, of Augusta, was sentenced to 118 months in federal prison by U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Methamphetamine, and Possession of Firearms by a Convicted Felon, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. After completion of his prison term, Marshall must serve three years of supervised release.
There is no parole in the federal system.
“Christopher Marshall’s sentence wraps up the investigation and disruption of a meth-distribution ring that spread this deadly poison throughout the Augusta area,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes in a press release. “The community is now safer with him and his cohorts behind bars.”
Marshall was among four defendants named in an eight-count indictment returned by a U.S. District Court grand jury in January 2020, identifying a conspiracy dating back at least to February 2018 that distributed large amounts of methamphetamine throughout the Augusta area.
The investigation, which included controlled purchases and federal search warrants, seized large quantities of methamphetamine, 15 firearms and more than $44,000 in cash.
“The sentencing of the final defendant in this investigation closes the door on this organization who peddled large quantities of ‘meth’ on the streets in the Augusta area,” said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Atlanta Field Division.
“This case is a prime example of how DEA works with its law enforcement partners to confront, engage and eliminate drug trafficking and is committed to protecting the community from the perils of drug abuse.”
“Methamphetamine trafficking is a real scourge to the Augusta-Richmond County community,” said Richmond County Sheriff Richard Roundtree. “Methamphetamine has ruined a lot of lives and continues to be a high threat drug. These prosecutions with our federal partners strengthen our enforcement efforts and send a clear message methamphetamine trafficking will not be tolerated.”
Marshall’s co-defendants all have been sentenced after entering guilty pleas.
Bjorn Michael Wiley, 42, of Martinez, is serving 168 months in prison; Bridget Lydell Biggam, 36, of Appling, Ga., is serving 98 months in prison; and John Tillman Durst, 29, of Waynesboro, Ga., was sentenced to time served.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Henry W. Syms Jr.
