Detroit Man Pleads Guilty To Role In Drug Trafficking Organization
Thursday, April 24, 2025, 11:15 A.M. ET. 3 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
HUNTINGTON, W.VA.- On Monday, a 24-year-old Detroit, Michigan, man learned he could be spending the rest of his life in federal prison after pleading guilty to his role in a Huntington, West Virginia, methamphetamine trafficking organization.
On Monday, April 21, 2025, Mark Lawrence Lowe, 24, of Detroit, Michigan, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Chambers to one count of Aiding and Abetting the Possession with Intent to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine; and Possession with Intent to Distribute 40 Grams or More of Fentanyl.
During his plea allocution on Monday, Lowe admitted to his role in a drug trafficking organization that was responsible for distributing large amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl throughout the Huntington, West Virginia, area.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston and charging information filed with the District Court, beginning in and around September 2023 and lasting through November 2023, Lowe participated in the distribution of large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl within the Southern District of West Virginia, and elsewhere as part of a large-scale drug trafficking operation.
During A Traffic Stop Fentanyl And Meth Found In Car
On September 9, 2023, Lowe and co-conspirator Paul Rucker were transporting fentanyl and methamphetamine from Huntington to Nitro, West Virginia, when law enforcement officers conducted a traffic stop of their vehicle on Interstate 64 in Cabell County, West Virginia. During the traffic stop, a Police Officer conducted a court-authorized search of the vehicle. During the search, the Police Officer located and seized around 149 grams of fentanyl and 222.62 grams of methamphetamine.
As part of his guilty plea, Lowe admitted that he and Rucker possessed and intended to distribute the controlled substances for financial gain.
Following entering his guilty plea on Monday, Judge Chambers accepted the plea and scheduled sentencing for July 28, 2025. At that time, Lowe faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison, at least five years of supervised release, and a $10 million fine, or both. At sentencing, a U.S. District Court Judge will determine the term of imprisonment based on the seriousness of the offense and Lowe’s prior criminal history.
Lowe and Rucker were among 27 people indicted on charges in connection with and for their roles in the drug trafficking organization that transported large quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine from Detroit, Michigan, to locations in Huntington and other locations in the Southern District of West Virginia to repackaged and distributed.
Lowe and Rucker, along with 22 others, have pleaded guilty, including one who pleaded guilty to a separate charge in lieu of the offenses unsealed in the indictment. The charges against the remaining defendants remain pending trial.
