Detroit Native Trafficking Drugs from California to the Mountain State Sentenced to Life in Federal Prison

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA - Detroit native, LaShawn Monroe, 31, has been sentenced to life in federal prison for leading a multi-state drug trafficking operation, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey.

Monroe operated a drug trafficking organization that distributed fentanyl and other controlled substances across five states: West Virginia, Michigan, California, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Monroe recruited couriers who transported his drugs from California to West Virginia and Michigan, and he managed a network of at least eight drug re-distributors who sold his drugs in Monongalia and Marion Counties at a street value of approximately $812,000.

"Monroe put money above lives, selling enough fentanyl to kill approximately 4.8 million people-two and a half times the population of West Virginia," said U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey. "His sentence should serve as a warning to anyone who thinks they can profit by endangering West Virginians."

"Drug trafficking groups succeed when people believe it's too far away, too large, or too sophisticated to fight back. This sentencing proves that is not the case," said FBI Pittsburgh Assistant Special Agent in Charge Amie Loos. "Every criminal organization leaves a trail. The FBI and our partners stand together to find it, follow it, and cut it out of our community to save lives."

"Drug traffickers like LaShawn Monroe prove time and again that they have no regard for human life; driven by greed, they sow misery in our communities, destroy lives and prey on society's most vulnerable," said Special Agent in Charge Jim Scott, head of DEA's Louisville Field Division. "The sentence handed down today should give Mr. Monroe time to reflect on the harm he has caused to numerous families and hopefully turn his life around once he regains his freedom."

Monroe, originally from Detroit, maintained two residences in West Virginia, one in Morgantown and a stash house in Fairmont. Search warrants executed at both residences resulted in the seizure of three loaded firearms, 8.8 kilograms of methamphetamine, 7.54 kilograms of fentanyl, 1.1 kilograms of crack cocaine, 1.94 kilograms of cocaine, 412 grams of heroin. The fentanyl seized from Monroe is one of the largest fentanyl seizures in West Virginia.

"The Morgantown Police Department is grateful to our regional and federal partners for their help suppressing the influx of lethal street drugs. We will continue to aggressively target and prosecute those individuals that try to bring this poison into our community," said Deputy Chief Christopher J. Ruehmer.

The investigation was led by the Mon Metro Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, with assistance from the DEA offices in Detroit, Columbus, and Cleveland.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda E. Wesley prosecuted the case.

Fentanyl has been designated by President Donald Trump as a weapon of mass destruction due to its extreme lethality, posing a grave public safety threat even in trace amounts. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative aimed at dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations, protecting communities from violent crime, and combating illegal immigration.

Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.