Detroit Man Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Crimes

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Rafael Cee-Erwin Solomon, also known as “Rip,” 43, of Detroit, Michigan, pleaded guilty today to three counts of distribution of fentanyl.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Solomon sold a quantity of fentanyl in Dunbar on March 10, 2025, and quantities of fentanyl in St. Albans on March 24, 2025, and March 27, 2025.

Solomon has a criminal history that includes a prior conviction for conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base, also known as “crack,” in United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia on December 10, 2012. He also has prior convictions for assault and battery-domestic violence, malicious destruction of property, arson, and felonious assault.

Today’s guilty pleas result from an investigation that also led to the indictment of 13 other individuals on charges alleging they participated in the distribution of fentanyl and methamphetamine in the Charleston area between June 2024 and May 2025. An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Solomon is scheduled to be sentenced on October 9, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, at least six years of supervised release, and a $2 million fine.

Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), which is composed of the Charleston Police Department, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, the Nitro Police Department, the St. Albans Police Department and the South Charleston Police Department.

United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe is prosecuting the case.

The investigation was part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The program 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. 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.

This case is also part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

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. 2:25-cr-77.

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