Four men involved in selling fentanyl in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia were sentenced to a combined total of 33 and a half years in prison, U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey announced on May 5.
The sentencing is part of ongoing efforts to address drug trafficking and its impact on local communities. Fentanyl distribution has been identified as a significant threat due to its potency and risk to public safety.
Kentrel Anthony Rollins, also known as “T-Rock,” age 33, from Baltimore, Maryland, received a sentence of 138 months for possessing fentanyl and a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. According to authorities, Rollins led an organization that operated between Baltimore and Hampshire County, West Virginia. Investigators seized fentanyl, two firearms, various rounds of ammunition, and more than $17,000 during the investigation. Eleven other defendants related to this case have been convicted and sentenced collectively to about 40 years in prison.
Jwan Martine Smith from Martinsburg was sentenced to 120 months while Matthew James Elsea from Stephenson received an 87-month sentence. Both were involved in another operation distributing large amounts of fentanyl under the leadership of Delano Butler. Law enforcement observed transfers from stash apartments into vehicles and made multiple traffic stops that resulted in the seizure of firearms and tens of thousands of pressed fentanyl pills. Additional searches yielded nearly eight pounds of fentanyl along with methamphetamine and heroin.
Tyler Lantz Gordon from Rawlings was sentenced to nearly five years for selling fentanyl near West Virginia University Potomac State College; his actions involved enough product for over eighteen thousand potentially deadly doses.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lara Omps-Botteicher and Kyle Kane prosecuted these cases with support from regional drug task forces funded by HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) initiatives as well as federal law enforcement agencies.
Fentanyl’s classification as a weapon of mass destruction underscores its extreme danger even at trace levels. These prosecutions fall under Operation Take Back America—a Department of Justice initiative targeting cartels and transnational criminal organizations nationwide.
