Chicago Man Gets 11 Years for Fentanyl, Meth Ring

A Chicago man has been sentenced to 11 years and 7 months in prison for his role in a fentanyl and methamphetamine trafficking ring.

Rory Divaughn Spells, 36, of Chicago, Illinois, was handed down the sentence by United States District Judge Frank W. Volk after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute a quantity of fentanyl and a quantity of methamphetamine.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on September 28, 2022, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at a residence near Beckley, West Virginia. Officers found quantities of fentanyl, a substance containing methamphetamine and $8,245. Spells admitted that he was mixing and preparing fentanyl for distribution in the residence’s kitchen at the time the search warrant was executed.

Spells further admitted that the cash represented proceeds of previous drug trafficking activity.

Co-defendant Lorenzo B. Herbert, 34, of Beckley, was sentenced on March 14, 2024, to 10 years in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and 50 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine.

The investigation was part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, which was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations.

United States Attorney Will Thompson commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), FBI Chicago, and the Chicago Police Department.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:23-cr-72.

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