Jury Convicts Stafford Man of Dealing Drugs While Armed

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Stafford man today of drug and firearms offenses.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Mark Jamahl Stephens, 26, was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department in May 2017 after officers discovered two firearms and crack cocaine in his vehicle. Following his arrest, ATF agents executed a search warrant at his home and seized three firearms and marijuana packaged for distribution.

Stephens was convicted of possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison when sentenced on Feb. 23, 2018. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Thomas L. Chittum, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, and Peter Newsham, Chief of Metropolitan Police Department, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, III accepted the verdict. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tobias D. Tobler and William M. Sloan are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:17-cr-202.