Parkersburg woman pleads guilty to fentanyl crime

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WTAP) - A Parkersburg woman plead guilty on Wednesday, December 7, to possession with intent to distribute 40 or more grams of fentanyl, according to a news release.

On April 27, 2021, Mary Elizabeth Curran, 37, obtained a quantity of fentanyl in Columbus, Ohio, which she intended to distribute in the Parkersburg area.

Curran was a passenger in a vehicle stopped by law enforcement officers after it entered Wood County from Ohio. Officers transported Curran to the North Central Regional Jail for an X-ray body scan after suspecting she was hiding controlled substances.

In an attempt to flush two plastic bags containing powder prior to the body scan, Curran clogged a bathroom toilet. The toilet was taken apart, and the bags were recovered.

The West Virginia State Police Forensic Laboratory confirmed one bag contained approximately 56 grams of fentanyl, and the other bag contained approximately 28.5 grams of a fentanyl analogue. The lab also found Curran’s DNA on one bag and her fingerprint on the other.

Curran is scheduled to be sentenced on March 2, 2023. She faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison, at least four years of supervised release, and a $5,000,000 fine.

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