Kanawha County Man Pleads Guilty To Federal Drug Crime

Wednesday, July 30, 2025, 6:15 P.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

CHARLESTON, W.VA.- A 39-year-old Nitro, West Virginia, man, learned on Monday that he could be facing up to 30 years in federal prison, when sentenced later this year, after pleading guilty to the distribution of a controlled substance.

     According to Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston, on Monday, July 28, 2025, Steven Jamar Alexander, also known as “The Dook,” 39 of Nitro, West Virginia, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Joseph R. Goodwin to Distribution of a Quantity of a Controlled Substance, Fentanyl.

Judge Goodwin Accepts The Plea And Schedules Sentencing For November

     Following entering his guilty plea on Monday, Judge Goodwin accepted the plea and scheduled sentencing for November 10, 2025. At that time, Alexander faces a mandatory minimum of ten years and up to 30 years in federal prison, at least six years, and up to a lifetime supervised release, and a $2 million fine. At sentencing, a U.S. District Court Judge will determine the term of imprisonment based on the seriousness of the offense and Alexander’s prior criminal history.

     According to the charging information and statements made during Monday’s plea hearing, during a large-scale narcotics investigation, Alexander sold around 20 grams of fentanyl on two separate occasions in March 2025, each time to a confidential informant under the observation of law enforcement investigators in St. Albans, West Virginia. Alexander admitted to both of the transactions.

Alexander Additional Admits To A Previous Drug Crime

     During Monday’s plea allocution, Alexander further admitted that he had been previously convicted of a serious narcotics felony for distributing a quantity of a substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, in May 2019, and was released from prison for that conviction within fifteen years of the instant offense.

     Monday’s guilty plea results from the investigation that also led to the indictment of thirteen other individuals on charges that they participated in the distribution of fentanyl and methamphetamine within the Charleston, West Virginia, area between June 2024 and May 2025.

     Rafael Cee-Erwin Solomon, also known as “Rip,” 43, of Detroit, Michigan, pleaded guilty on June 30, 2025, to three counts of distribution of fentanyl and is scheduled to be sentenced on October 9, 2025. The charges against the remaining eleven individuals remain pending, and all eleven are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

     Acting U.S. Attorney Johnston commended the investigative efforts of the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Team and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which led to Monday’s guilty plea.