Appalachia man sentenced for meth distribution linked to death of Big Stone Gap Officer Chandler

ABINGDON, Va. (WJHL) — An Appalachia, Va. man who reportedly participated in a scheme to distribute meth that was tied to the 2021 murder of Big Stone Gap Officer Michael Chandler has been sentenced to serve six and a half years in federal prison for his role in the conspiracy.

According to a news release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia, Christopher Bates, 31, was sentenced Tuesday to serve 78 months incarcerated. He is the eighth defendant to be sentenced and the nineteenth charged for playing a role in the meth distribution conspiracy, according to the release.

The meth distribution was linked by investigators to a residence in Big Stone Gap at 2505 Orr Street, where Officer Chandler was shot by Michael Donovan White during a welfare check on Nov. 13, 2021, as soon as he approached a vehicle outside the home. Chandler later died from his injuries.

“This address, known locally as ‘the red house,’ was well-known to police and often the subject of calls for service for civil disturbances, warrant service, welfare checks, overdoses, complaints of assaults, and drug-related activities,” the release states.

Those previously sentenced for roles in the meth distribution that was linked to the residence Officer Chandler was shot at include the following: Timothy Ray Jones – 235 months; Charles Ryan Bowman – 120 months; Elicia Amber Burns – 172 months; James Brian Mullins – 180 months; Justin Dwayne Skaggs – 132 months; Tyler Lee Westmoreland – 54 months; and James Ray Worley – 120 months.

Michael White is scheduled to be sentenced for the killing in federal court on Nov. 20 after previously pleading guilty to his first-degree murder charge .

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