Chicago Man Sentenced to 11 Years for Fentanyl, Methamphetamine Ring

Chicago Man Sentenced to 11 Years for Fentanyl, Methamphetamine Ring

BECKLEY, W.Va. – In a move to take down a major drug trafficking operation, a Chicago man has been sentenced to 11 years and 7 months in prison for his role in selling fentanyl and methamphetamine.

Rory Divaughn Spells, 36, of Chicago, Illinois, was handed the sentence by United States District Judge Frank W. Volk. Spells will also serve 3 years of supervised release after his prison term.

Spells was arrested in September 2022 after law enforcement executed a search warrant at a residence near Beckley. Officers found a quantity of fentanyl, a substance containing methamphetamine, and $8,245 in cash.

Spells admitted in court that he was mixing and preparing fentanyl for distribution in the residence’s kitchen at the time of the search warrant. He also admitted that the cash was proceeds from previous drug trafficking activity.

Co-defendant Lorenzo B. Herbert, 34, of Beckley, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on March 14, 2024, for his role in the same operation. Herbert was found guilty of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and 50 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine.

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.

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.

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.