Ron Welch
Muskingum County Prosecutor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Out-of-State Man Sentenced to Prison for Drug Trafficking
A man from Wilmington, Delaware pled guilty to drug trafficking in Muskingum County Common Pleas Court.
Anthony T. Christopher, age 28, of Wilmington, Delaware, appeared before Common Pleas judge Kelly Cottrill on April 22, pleading guilty to felony trafficking in marihuana, felony possessing criminal tools, and misdemeanor unauthorized use of a vehicle. Judge Cottrill sentenced Christopher to four years in prison and ordered him to pay a mandatory $5,000 fine.
On February 2, Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers conducted an investigation involving Christopher, who was driving a rented car across Ohio and appeared to be trafficking narcotics. CODE Task Force Detective Ben Martens of the Licking County Sheriff’s Office pulled Christopher over for a traffic violation in Muskingum County.
A drug-sniffing dog indicated the presence of narcotics in the car, and troopers found a large amount of marijuana being transported by Christopher.
Ohio voters legalized “adult use cannabis” in 2023. Adult use cannabis is a type of marijuana characterized as being possessed by a person over the age of 21, and either purchased from an Ohio-licensed dispensary, grown by the possessor in the possessor’s own home, or gifted directly by the grower to a friend. At the time of his arrest, Christopher did not meet any of these qualifications.
Christopher was ordered to pay $6,940 to cover the costs of testing the potency of the marijuana he was trafficking in addition to the $5,000 mandatory fine.
Muskingum County Assistant Attorney John Litle says Christopher was part of a larger drug trafficking network.
“In this case, we weren’t dealing with some backyard pot-smoker,” Litle said. “Christopher is a member of a nationwide drug distribution organization that operates illegally on the black market, with no less violence than any other drug product. The drugs weren’t destined for Ohio, but that doesn’t change our obligation to pursue public safety and ensure justice is done.”
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