Michigan and Ohio Residents Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl

The prosecution involved more than 200 grams of the powerful and dangerous opioid

ASHLAND, Ky. – Demetre Brown-Lovelace, 27, of Belleville, Mich., and Noelle Tufts, 24, of Ironton, Ohio, were sentenced to federal prison today, by United States District Judge David L. Bunning, for a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.  Brown-Lovelace was sentenced to ten years and Tufts was sentenced to five years.

Brown-Lovelace and Tufts previously admitted that in April 2017, they conspired together and with others to distribute 209 grams of fentanyl.  Brown-Lovelace had a prior conviction for trafficking in a controlled substance, heroin, from the Boyd Circuit Court, in April 2016.  Brown-Lovelace and Tufts entered a plea to the conspiracy charge in May 2018.            

Under federal law, Brown-Lovelace and Tufts must serve 85 percent of their prison sentence; and, upon their release, they will be under the supervision of the United States Probation Office for eight years and four years, respectively.

Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Robert Allan Jones, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Pittsburgh Field Office; and Richard Sanders, Commissioner of the Kentucky State Police; jointly made the announcement.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI, Huntington, WV Resident Agency and the Kentucky State Police.  The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney Cynthia T. Rieker.