Detroit Man Pleads Guilty to Role in Huntington Methamphetamine Trafficking Organization

Press Release

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Mark Lawrence Lowe, also known as "Cell," 24, of Detroit, Michigan, pleaded guilty today to aiding and abetting the possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and 40 grams or more of fentanyl. Lowe admitted to his role in a drug trafficking organization (DTO) responsible for distributing large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl in the Huntington area.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from at least September 2023 through November 2023, Lowe participated in the distribution of methamphetamine and fentanyl at various locations in the Southern District of West Virginia and elsewhere as part of the DTO.

On September 9, 2023, Lowe and co-conspirator Paul Anthony Rucker were transporting fentanyl and methamphetamine from Huntington to Nitro when law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of their vehicle on Interstate 64 in Cabell County. An officer seized approximately 149 grams of fentanyl and 222.62 grams of methamphetamine from the vehicle during the traffic stop. As part of his guilty plea, Lowe admitted that he and Rucker intended to distribute the seized controlled substances.

Lowe is scheduled to be sentenced on July 28, 2025, 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.

Rucker, 47, of Nitro, was sentenced on July 15, 2024, to six years and six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for aiding and abetting possession with intent to distribute quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl.

Lowe and Rucker are among 27 individuals indicted on charges alleging the DTO distributed methamphetamine and fentanyl transported from Detroit, Michigan, in Huntington 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 charges in lieu of the offenses alleged in the indictment. Charges against the remaining defendants are pending. An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston 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. MDENT is composed of the Charleston Police Department, the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office, the Nitro Police Department, the St. Albans Police Department and the South Charleston Police Department.

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

The investigation was part of the Department of Justice's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The program was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and is the keystone of the Department of Justice's drug reduction strategy. OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.

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. 3:23-cr-180.

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Updated April 21, 2025