UPDATE: MARK SULLIVAN HAS RETURNED TO WORK
UPDATE 2: ATHENS COUNTY PROSECUTOR KELLER BLACKBURN CONFIRMED CHILDREN'S SERVICES IS CONDUCTING AN INVESTIGATION.
A chair was all that stood between Samantha Sullivan and her uncle, Athens County Commissioner Mark Sullivan, during a heated argument Tuesday.
As the tension over the family’s parking spaces mounted, Mark, 52, stepped around the chair in the center of the living room, pointing his finger inches from 29-year-old Samantha’s face.
Samantha stood her ground. And then Mark slammed his head into her lip.
“I was shocked he would do that in front of his two kids,” Samantha said of her uncle, who is facing four challengers in March’s Democratic primary. “And now I’m worried he’ll do anything in his power to drag my name through the mud.”
But a rumpled Mark Sullivan — wearing orange prison garb — firmly voiced his innocence when he appeared in Athens County Municipal Court via video chat Wednesday.
“I am 100 percent, completely not guilty,” said Mark, who was released from Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail Wednesday afternoon.
About 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Samantha called Nelsonville Police to her grandmother’s house on Woodlane Drive, Nelsonville, where both she and Mark reside.
She told police that, after Mark became frustrated about Samantha and her grandmother taking a parking space closer to the house, he left a “nasty” note on her car. After receiving the message, Samantha suggested that Mark park at the bottom of the hilly driveway so her grandmother wouldn’t have to carry groceries up the incline.
Mark told police he was trying to leave the residence and Samantha ran into him, but after taking statements and viewing the blood blister already forming on Samantha’s lip, officers arrested him for domestic violence — a first-degree misdemeanor.
The charge holds a maximum sentence of 180 days in jail and a maximum fine of $1,000, according to Ohio Revised Code.
Fellow Commissioner Larry Payne fears the incident will damage Sullivan’s chances of re-election.
“Sometimes, a four-way race favors the incumbent. But with this latest incident, it probably really hurt his chances,” Payne said. But Payne doesn’t plan to call for Mark’s resignation.
Mark’s shot at re-election could be further marred by a year filled with court appearances and accusations.
Mark was charged with domestic violence in March following an altercation with his wife, Tammie Sullivan, in his Millfield home. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of persistent disorderly conduct, a fourth-degree misdemeanor, according to court documents.
As part of his probation, Mark was ordered to be a law-abiding citizen for two years. Tuesday’s charge is in violation of his probation, but no one has filed a motion to impose yet.
In July, Tammie called the Athens County Sheriff’s Office, claiming marijuana was being grown in the backyard of the Sullivans’ home. Deputies seized 39 pot plants, but Sullivan claimed to have no knowledge of their existence.
Also that month, Tammie filed for a civil protection order, citing an incident where Mark had punched, bloodied and bruised her. Sullivan denied these allegations and Tammie voluntarily dismissed the order Aug. 3.
Mark filed for divorce from his wife in August. The divorce was finalized in November.
“This is a personal matter and there are clearly some issues he has to deal with,” Payne said. “We have to see how it works out in the legal process.”
As part of his bond, Mark must remain a law-abiding citizen and have no contact with Samantha, Athens County Municipal Court Judge William Grim said.
If Mark is convicted of domestic violence again, the charge will be upgraded to a felony.
Because he and the victim share the same address, Sullivan must find somewhere else to stay once he is released.
Sullivan’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8 a.m. Feb. 3.
as218907@ohiou.edu
