The Dismantling of an Interstate Drug Trafficking Operation Sends Two to Prison

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA - Two men were sentenced for their roles in a drug trafficking organization that stretched from Philadelphia to Detroit to Morgantown, West Virginia, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey.

Rex Jenkins, 34, of Southfield, Michigan, was sentenced to 124 months in federal prison after a jury convicted him in March 2025 of fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine trafficking. James Elli, 43, of Point Marion, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 79 months. Jenkins and Elli were part of a larger drug trafficking operation based in Philadelphia that was selling methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine in Morgantown. Drug amounts between the two men totaled more than 43 grams of fentanyl, 126 grams of methamphetamine, and more than four grams of cocaine.

The 24 defendants involved in the drug trafficking conspiracy were convicted for their roles. Twenty, including Jenkins and Elli, have been sentenced to a combined 183 years in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda Wesley prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

This case was investigated by the Mon Metro Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative. The task force consists of members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the West Virginia State Police; the Monongalia County Sheriff's Office; the Monongalia County Prosecuting Attorney's Office; the Morgantown Police Department; the WVU Police Department; the Granville Police Department; and the Star City Police Department.

Fentanyl has been designated by President Donald Trump as a weapon of mass destruction due to its extreme lethality which poses a grave threat to public safety, even in trace amounts. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime, and repel the invasion of illegal immigration.

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