New Bedford Drug Dealer with Violent History Gets Prison Time
NEW BEDFORD — A New Bedford drug trafficker who assaulted a fellow inmate in the Bristol County jail in Dartmouth will serve five to seven years in state prison after he was sentenced last Friday.
The Bristol County District Attorney's office said that 27-year-old Joshua Sullivan has a "history of violence."
Sullivan pleaded guilty to cocaine trafficking, MDMA possession, and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.
He also admitted to charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery.
New Bedford Police caught Sullivan last year while searching two addresses on Linden Street.
On March 10, 2020, officers found around 250 MDMA pills, 26 grams of cocaine and crack cocaine, 11 suboxone tabs, and a loaded .22 caliber Ruger along with multiple scales, cut corner bags and more than $1,300 in cash.
When he was arrested, the defendant was on probation in Middlesex County in connection to a drug-related robbery that ended in a person getting shot.
On June 1, 2020, while Sullivan was incarcerated at the Bristol County House of Corrections in Dartmouth, he joined another inmate to gang up on and violently assault a third inmate.
“The defendant has a significant record including being on probation for serious offenses out of two courts when he committed these offenses," said Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn. "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,” Quinn added.