COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ashville man will spend more than 22 years in federal prison after investigators found bulk narcotics, 18 firearms and tens of thousands of dollars in cash inside his Hilliard hotel room, federal authorities said.
Samuel A. Griffith, 35, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court to 270 months in prison, according to a news release announcing the sentence. U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson imposed the term.
Investigators said Griffith sold fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine out of a Red Roof Inn room in Hilliard in October 2025. When agents executed a search warrant, they recovered more than four kilograms of methamphetamine, more than a kilogram of fentanyl, a partial kilogram of cocaine, 18 guns and nearly $40,000 in cash, according to court documents.
Griffith has prior felony convictions for robbery, aggravated possession of drugs and having weapons under disability, prosecutors said. Because of those convictions, he was barred from possessing firearms or ammunition.
The sentence was announced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Fairfield County Sheriff Alex Lape, Ohio State Highway Patrol Superintendent Col. Charles A. Jones and Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin W. Kelley prosecuted the case.
