Tyrece Ramone Phillips, a 39-year-old resident of Charleston, West Virginia, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. This sentence comes as a result of his involvement in a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl and for violating the terms of his supervised release.
Court documents reveal that on October 3, 2024, law enforcement intercepted a package addressed to Phillips' residence containing approximately 538 grams of fentanyl. A search warrant was executed on the package, and investigators replaced the fentanyl with a sham substance before conducting a controlled delivery on October 4, 2024. Upon receiving the package at his home, Phillips began opening it when investigators executed another search warrant. They found him holding the sham substance in an upstairs bathroom along with a scale bearing residue. Three teenage children were present at the residence during this time.
Phillips was already serving supervised release from a previous conviction dated March 20, 2019, for distributing acetyl fentanyl and fentanyl. He received an additional two-year prison sentence for committing this new offense while under supervision; this term will run concurrently with his current sentence.
The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston who praised the U.S. Postal Inspection Service's investigative efforts. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney J. Parker Bazzle II and presided over by United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin.
Further details can be accessed through related court documents available on PACER under Case No. 2:24-cr-177 or via the U.S. Attorney’s Office website for the Southern District of West Virginia.
