United States Drug Enforcement Administration

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Fayetteville man was sentenced today to 300 months in prison for running a Fayetteville-based stash house where fentanyl and methamphetamine were sold.  On July 25, 2022, Montrel Demon Rhone pled guilty to drug trafficking and firearms charges.

“Stemming the flow of illicit fentanyl and the overdose epidemic continue to be among our highest priorities,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “This avowed drug trafficker and REPEAT felon had eight prior drug-related convictions, and tried to escape accountability in this case by flushing drugs down the toilet when police executed search warrants.  With this federal sentence, he will now spend the next quarter century behind bars.”

According to court documents and other information presented in court, investigators received information in October of 2020, that Rhone, 45, was running a drug house in the Deep Creek Road area of Fayetteville where he and half a dozen of his co-conspirators were selling drugs that he provided.  From late 2020 through March of 2021, investigators conducted multiple controlled purchases of fentanyl, para-fluorofentanyl, and methamphetamine from Rhone and people working on his behalf.  Ultimately, investigators were able to establish that Rhone received half kilograms of fentanyl at a time from his source of supply. 

On March 25, 2021, the Fayetteville Police Department executed a search warrant at a hotel where Rhone had stored methamphetamine for one of the controlled purchases.  Though Rhone attempted to destroy drug evidence by flushing it down the toilet, investigators recovered fentanyl, drug packaging material, and two firearms from within the room.  At the time of this investigation, Rhone had previously been convicted of eight different drug related felony convictions in the State of North Carolina and had served an active prison sentence for cocaine trafficking. 

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Fayetteville Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Caroline Webb prosecuted the case.

The DEA encourages parents, along with their children, to educate themselves about the dangers of legal and illegal drugs by visiting DEA’s interactive websites at www.JustThinkTwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com, www.CampusDrugPrevention.gov, and www.dea.gov . Also follow DEA Atlanta via Twitter at @DEAATLANTADiv

                                            ###