Steven Jamar Alexander, 39, of Nitro, West Virginia, pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl in federal court. Court records show that Alexander sold about 20 grams of fentanyl on two occasions in March 2025 to a confidential informant in St. Albans.
Alexander admitted to having a previous conviction for distributing methamphetamine in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia on May 13, 2019. He was released from prison for that offense within the last 15 years.
Sentencing is scheduled for November 10, 2025. Alexander faces up to 30 years in prison, at least six years and up to life on supervised release, and a possible $2 million fine.
This case stems from an investigation that led to charges against 13 others accused of distributing fentanyl and methamphetamine in Charleston between June 2024 and May 2025. Rafael Cee-Erwin Solomon, also known as “Rip,” of Detroit, Michigan, pleaded guilty on June 30, 2025, to three counts of distribution of fentanyl and will be sentenced October 9, 2025. Charges remain pending against other defendants.
“An indictment is merely an allegation, and all 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 announced the plea and commended investigative efforts by the FBI and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), which includes local police departments from Charleston area communities.
United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the hearing; Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe prosecuted the case.
The investigation was conducted under the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), which targets major drug trafficking organizations using combined federal and local resources since its establishment in 1982.
This prosecution is also part of Operation Take Back America—an initiative combining OCDETF and Project Safe Neighborhoods resources aimed at dismantling criminal organizations involved with illegal drugs and violent crime nationwide.
