New Bedford Drug Trafficker with Illegal Gun Sentenced to Prison

Bristol County District Attorney’s Office

Thomas M. Quinn III
District Attorney

Press Release
October 4, 2021​

A 27-year-old narcotics trafficker with a history of violence, who also assaulted a fellow inmate in the Dartmouth House of Corrections, was sentenced to serve five to seven years in state prison last Friday, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.

Joshua Sullivan pleaded guilty in Fall River Superior Court to indictments charging him with trafficking cocaine, possession with intent to distribute MDMA, unlawful possession of a firearm-subsequent offense, unlawful possession of ammunition, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery.

The defendant was the target of a New Bedford Police Department search warrant for two Linden Street addresses.  On March 10, 2020, officers executed the search warrants and located approximately 250 MDMA pills, 26 grams of cocaine and crack cocaine, 11 suboxone tabs, a loaded .22 caliber Ruger multiple scales, cut corner bags and more than $1,300 in cash.

At the time of his arrest, the defendant was on probation out of Middlesex County for a case involving a drug-related robbery which resulted in a shooting of the victim.

On June 1, 2020, while incarcerated at the Dartmouth House of Corrections, this defendant joined another inmate to gang up on a third inmate and violently assaulted him.

The state prison sentence was imposed by Judge Renee Dupuis and the case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jeanne Veenstra.

“The defendant has a significant record including being on probation for serious offenses out of two courts when he committed these offenses. He was not deterred by being on probation and even beat up another  inmate while in custody for these charges. He clearly is a danger to the community and needs to be kept off the street,” District Attorney Quinn said.

Contact:

Gregg Miliote

Director of Communications

774-292-9576