Detroit Man Sentenced For Federal Fentanyl Crime
Wednesday, July 16, 2025, 2:10 P.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
BECKLEY, W.VA.- A 40-year-old Detroit, Michigan, man will be spending nearly the next decade in federal prison, after being sentenced last Friday for a federal fentanyl crime.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston, on Friday, July 11, 2025, Jesse Robert Phillips, 40, of Detroit, Michigan, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia and was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Frank W. Volk to 115 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl.
According To Court Documents
According to documents filed with the District Court, on April 30, 2024, members of the Mount Hope Police Department responded to a report of a disturbance at a Mount Hope, West Virginia, residence. Upon arrival, Police Officers encountered Phillips at the residence where he was staying at the time. During the encounter, Police Officers located and seized four firearms and two bags containing nearly 20 grams of fentanyl from Phillips’ bedroom at the residence.
During his previous plea hearing, Phillips admitted that he possessed the fentanyl and that he intended to sell it. Phillips further admitted that he had been selling fentanyl and used the other two occupants of the home, Robert Lee Moran and Kayla Nicole Dent, to sell fentanyl for him while he was staying at the residence.
Moran, 47, of Mount Hope, West Virginia, was sentenced on June 3, 2025, to nine months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for distribution of fentanyl. Dent, 34, also of Mount Hope, West Virginia, was sentenced to five years of federal probation, including six months of home confinement as a condition of the probation after pleading guilty on January 29, 2025, to distribution of fentanyl.
In Handing Down The Sentence Judge Volk Notes Phillips’ Prior Criminal History
In handing down the sentence last Friday, Judge Volk noted Phillips’ criminal history that includes prior convictions for armed robbery and multiple narcotics offenses.
