A Delaware County man convicted of hauling nearly 28 kilograms of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine from California to a Polaris Fashion Place parking lot has been sentenced to almost 27 years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. handed Terrance Colvin, 39, a 322-month sentence on Wednesday, following his conviction at trial on six federal drug trafficking and firearm counts.
According to The Columbus Dispatch, the case traces back to May 2024, when New Mexico State Police stopped a commercial car hauler carrying a vehicle with hidden compartments packed with narcotics. HSI Albuquerque notified HSI agents about the discovery, and investigators say they found roughly 27 kilograms of narcotics stashed inside the vehicle, including 21 kilograms of methamphetamine and six kilograms of cocaine, along with additional bulk amounts of fentanyl. Rather than seize everything on the spot, law enforcement officials replaced most of the drugs with sham narcotics and let the delivery continue as planned.
A Controlled Delivery Ends in a Polaris Apartment Garage
Federal and local law enforcement officials arranged for the vehicle to be delivered to Polaris Fashion Place at 1500 Polaris Parkway, where Colvin arrived by Uber to retrieve it, the Dispatch reported. He then drove the vehicle to his home at 801 Polaris Apartments, using a key card to enter the secured parking garage before parking next to a 2015 Cadillac Escalade, according to federal court filings published by Midpage. Investigators say Colvin then transferred the narcotics from the hidden compartments into a duffel bag before agents moved in.
Agents searched Colvin's apartment and seized three loaded firearms, according to the Dispatch's account of the case. As a previously convicted felon, Colvin was prohibited by law from possessing firearms or ammunition. Prosecutors say his criminal history includes prior narcotics and weapons-related charges, obstructing justice, kidnapping, receiving stolen property, disorderly conduct and driving under the influence.
Six Counts, One Trial, Decades of Exposure
Colvin was originally indicted in June 2024 and was convicted at trial in February on all six counts he faced. As reported by 10TV, those counts included conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, five kilograms or more of cocaine and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, plus firearm offenses. The trial opened January 28 before Judge Sargus and ended with guilty verdicts across the board on February 3, per a U.S. Department of Justice release announcing the verdict.
That same Justice Department announcement noted Colvin faced a statutory range running from a mandatory minimum of 15 years up to life in prison. His ultimate sentence of 322 months, or 26 years and 10 months, fell within that range but well above the floor, reflecting the scale of narcotics involved.
Multi-Agency Investigation Spanned Two States
The prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin W. Kelley and S. Courter Shimeall, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, with investigative support from HSI Detroit, HSI Albuquerque, New Mexico State Police and the Delaware County Drug Task Force. The Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center also provided digital forensic analysis and intelligence support for the prosecution, the agency said in a statement.
The case fits a pattern federal authorities have pursued elsewhere in Central Ohio. In July 2025, the Justice Department reported that fentanyl supplier Sa'd Watkins was sentenced to 15 years in prison following a joint investigation by HSI and the Delaware County Drug Task Force. Law enforcement has flagged commercial areas around Polaris Parkway before: the Delaware Gazette reported in 2015 that shopping-center parking areas near the corridor had previously served as meeting points for interstate drug distribution operations.
A Wider Public Health Concern
The combination of drugs found in Colvin's case — fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine together — mirrors a trend Ohio officials have tracked for years. An intelligence bulletin from the Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center reported that more than 58% of drug overdose deaths in Ohio have involved multi-substance mixtures, warning that bulk shipments combining opioids, cocaine and methamphetamine complicate overdose response.
Hoodline previously covered the Polaris trafficking conviction back in February, when Colvin faced up to life in prison after his trial verdict. It remains unclear who supplied the drugs loaded into the vehicle's hidden compartments in California or who the intended downstream buyers were in Central Ohio, questions that were not addressed in the sentencing announcement.
