Detroit ‘Fat Rell’ Faces 10+ Years for Meth Kingpin Role

Detroit Man Sentenced to Decades for Methamphetamine Trafficking

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Derrell Cashawn Massey, 34, also known as “Rell,” and “Fat Rell,” of Detroit, Michigan, pleaded guilty to distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine in a case that exposed the scope of a massive methamphetamine trafficking operation in the Southern District of West Virginia.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on May 3, 2023, Massey distributed approximately 1 pound of methamphetamine to a confidential informant at a Ninth Street residence in Huntington where Massey was living. The confidential informant had called Massey beforehand to arrange the transaction, agreeing to pay $2,000 in exchange for the methamphetamine.

Massey admitted to the transaction and further admitted to participating in the DTO from at least November 2022 through November 2023. Massey’s participation included arranging for quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl to be transported from Detroit and other areas to Huntington for distribution. Massey also distributed at least 30 pounds of methamphetamine to a specific customer in Nitro, West Virginia, and directed other individuals to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl to various customers.

Massey and other DTO participants used multiple residences to store and distribute quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl, including Massey’s Ninth Avenue residence in Huntington. On September 12, 2023, law enforcement officers seized six 9mm semiautomatic pistols at Massey’s Ninth Avenue residence.

Massey is scheduled to be sentenced on July 31, 2024, and faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years of supervised release, and a $10 million fine.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), the West Virginia State Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

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

Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph F. Adams and Stephanie Taylor are prosecuting the case, with United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presiding over the hearing.