ATHOL – A resident of Athol was sentenced Thursday to six to eight years in state prison following a guilty plea to 14 drug and firearm charges
According to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, Franklin Superior Court Judge Jeremy Bucci sentenced Christopher Jellison, 40, to state prison after accepting his change of plea to the charges of cocaine trafficking, 18-36 grams; possession with intent to distribute heroin; possession with intent to distribute Suboxone (subsequent offense); three counts of unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior serious drug conviction; two counts of unlawful possession of a shotgun with a prior serious drug conviction; unlawful possession of ammunition with a prior serious drug conviction; three counts of improper storage of a firearm; and two counts of improper storage of a firearm (shotgun).
As part of the Wednesday’s plea agreement, the commonwealth dismissed eight other criminal charges Jellison had faced.
The prison sentence will be followed by two years on probation. The sentence was jointly recommended by Northwestern Assistant District Attorney Andrew Covington and defense attorney Michael Sheridan of the Committee for Public Counsel Services.
“A drug operation underway in Athol was successfully shut down with this case. The commonwealth is thankful for the hard work the Northwestern District Anti-Crime Task Force put into this investigation, which led to Mr. Jellison being held accountable for committing serious drug and firearm offenses in our community,” said Covington in the DA’s office statement.
The charges stemmed from an investigation by the Northwestern District’s Anti-Crime Task Force that began in December of 2022, during which investigators learned Jellison had been selling drugs from the residence for several months. The investigation culminated with Jellison’s arrest in February of 2023.