Detroit’s “Cell” Sentenced For His Role In West Virginia Drug Trafficking Ring

Thursday, July 31, 2025, 6:45 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

HUNTINGTON, W.VA.- Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston reported, on Monday, July 28, 2025, Mark Lawrence Lowe, also known as “Cell,” 24, of Detroit, Michigan, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Chambers to 18 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to federal narcotics trafficking offenses.

     Lowe previously appeared in Federal Court in Huntington, West Virginia, and pleaded guilty to one count of Aiding and Abetting Possession with Intent to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine; and 40 Grams or More of Fentanyl. During his plea allocution, Lowe admitted to his role in a drug trafficking organization that was responsible for distributing large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl in Huntington, West Virginia.

According To Court Documents

     According to documents filed with the District Court, beginning in September 2023 and lasting through November 2023, Lowe participated in the distribution of methamphetamine and fentanyl at multiple locations in the Southern District of West Virginia and elsewhere as part of the drug trafficking organization.

     On September 9, 2023, Lowe and co-conspirator Paul Anthony Rucker were transporting methamphetamine and fentanyl from Huntington, West Virginia, into Nitro, West Virginia, when a law enforcement Officer conducted a traffic stop of their vehicle on Interstate 64 in Cabell County, West Virginia. During a court-authorized search of the vehicle, the Police Officer located and seized around 149 grams of fentanyl and approximately 222.62 grams of methamphetamine from inside the vehicle.

     As part of his previous guilty plea, Lowe admitted that he and Rucker possessed the fentanyl and methamphetamine and that they intended to distribute the controlled substances.

     Rucker, 48, of Nitro, West Virginia, was sentenced on July 15, 2025, to 80 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for aiding and abetting possession with intent to distribute quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl within the Southern District of West Virginia, and elsewhere.

Lowe And Rucker Were Among 27 Indicted

     Lowe and Rucker were among 27 individuals indicted on federal drug charges for their roles in the drug trafficking organization that distributed methamphetamine and fentanyl that was transported from Detroit, Michigan, into Huntington, West Virginia, and other locations within the Southern District of West Virginia. Lowe, Rucker, and 22 other defendants have pleaded guilty, including one who pleaded guilty to a separate charge in lieu of the offense unsealed in the indictment. Charges against the remaining defendants remain pending and are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.