Detroit’s “Rip” Pleads Guilty To West Virginia Federal Drug Crimes

Tuesday, July 1, 2025, 7:45 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher; Englebrook Independent News,

CHARLESTON, W.VA.- A 43-year-old Detroit, Michigan, man, and a career criminal, is facing up to 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty yesterday in Federal Court in Charleston, West Virginia, to multiple federal narcotics distribution violations.

     According to Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston, on Monday, June 30, 2025, Rafael Cee-Erwin Solomon, also known as “Rip,” 43, 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 Joseph R. Goodwin to three counts of Distribution of a Controlled Substance, Fentanyl.

At Sentencing, Solomon Faces Up To Life In Federal Prison

     Following entering his guilty plea on Monday, Judge Goodwin accepted the plea and scheduled sentencing for October 9, 2025. At that time, Solomon faces up to 30 years in federal prison, at least six years of supervised release, and up to $2 million in fines.

According To Court Documents

     According to charging documents and statements made in the District Court, during an investigation into illicit narcotics distribution in the Southern District of West Virginia, Solomon sold a quantity of fentanyl in Dunbar, West Virginia, on March 10, 2025, and quantities of fentanyl in St. Albans on March 24, 2025, and again on March 27, 2025. 

     Solomon has an extensive criminal history that includes prior felony convictions, including conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine in the Southern District of West Virginia in December 2012. He has also been convicted of assault and battery related to domestic violence, malicious destruction of property, arson, and felonious assault.

     Solomon’s guilty pleas on Monday resulted from an investigation that also led to a federal indictment charging 13 other individuals with federal narcotics offenses for allegedly participating in the distribution of fentanyl and methamphetamine within the Charleston, West Virginia, area between June 2024 and May 2025.

     Acting U.S. Attorney Johnston commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s investigative work, which led to Solomon’s indictment and Monday’s guilty plea.