A federal jury in Columbus found 29-year-old Stephen Sullens guilty on all three drug and firearm counts Thursday, capping a case that began two years ago when Marietta police found fentanyl and a loaded pistol in a vehicle parked in an alley behind a home on 5th Street. Sullens now faces a sentence ranging from six years to life in prison, largely because the drugs were found within 1,000 feet of a Catholic elementary school.
The trial before U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson began Tuesday and wrapped up with convictions on possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, unlawful transport of firearms, and illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to NBC4 WCMH-TV. Court documents and trial testimony established that Sullens possessed fentanyl with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of Saint Mary's Catholic School at the time of his July 18, 2024 arrest, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio. Sullens had a prior felony conviction that already barred him from possessing firearms or ammunition, per NBC4's reporting.
How the Traffic Stop Unfolded
Marietta police officers responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle near St. Mary Catholic School and encountered Sullens inside a car parked in the alley behind the 5th Street residence, federal prosecutors said. A police canine alerted to the vehicle, and officers went on to discover fentanyl along with a pistol carrying a loaded magazine inside the car, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. That encounter, which unfolded under then-recently appointed Marietta Police Chief Katherine Warden — who became the department's first female chief in June 2022, per WOUB Public Media — set off a case that would eventually draw in federal prosecutors and a regional drug task force.
Federal court records show Sullens was originally indicted in June 2025, with a superseding indictment returned in July 2026 leading to the three counts a jury ultimately convicted him on this week. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin W. Kelley and Nicole Pakiz prosecuted the case for the government. The conviction was announced jointly by U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II, ATF Special Agent in Charge Jorge Rosendo, Chief Warden, and the Southeast Major Crimes Task Force, according to the Justice Department.
Why the School Zone Matters So Much
The proximity to Saint Mary's Catholic School is what pushes Sullens' potential sentence so high. Under 21 U.S.C. § 860, distributing or possessing a controlled substance with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school doubles the statutory maximum penalties and triggers enhanced mandatory minimums, according to a legal explainer from Cron Israels and Stark. That statute is the reason Sullens now faces a minimum of six years and up to life behind bars, per NBC4's report.
The Southeast Major Crimes Task Force, which helped drive the investigation, operates under the Ohio Attorney General's Organized Crime Investigation Commission and brings together law enforcement agencies across six southeastern Ohio counties to target regional drug trafficking networks, according to the Athens County Sheriff's Office. Regional task forces in southeastern Ohio have repeatedly targeted central Ohio suppliers moving bulk narcotics from Columbus into smaller communities along the Ohio River corridor, per past reporting from The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.
Sentencing Still to Come
Sullens will be sentenced at a later date, with the exact timing and final sentence to be determined under advisory federal sentencing guidelines, the Justice Department said. Until then, the range prosecutors have laid out — six years at the low end, life imprisonment at the high end — stands as the marker for how seriously federal authorities are treating a case that started with a single suspicious car parked behind a Marietta home.
