Detroit Man Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Crime

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Sylvester Roosevelt McNeil, also known as “Juan,” 50, of Detroit, Michigan, pleaded guilty today to distribution of fentanyl.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on August 27, 2022, McNeil sold approximately 1.3 grams of fentanyl to a confidential informant at a location on Nickel Plate Road in Huntington.

McNeil is scheduled to be sentenced on May 8, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $1 million fine.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams is prosecuting the case.

The investigation was part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and is the keystone of the Department of Justice’s drug reduction strategy. Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-165.

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