Detroit man sentenced to over 11 years federal prison in West Virginia drug investigation

A Detroit man will serve time in federal prison in the aftermath of a fentanyl investigation in West Virginia, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia reported. 

Franklin Fitzgerald Elly, also known as "Costco," 36, of Detroit, was sentenced Monday to 11 years and 10 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute 40 grams or more of a substance containing fentanyl, the district attorney's office said. The prison term will be followed by five years of supervised release. 

The investigation involved drug activity that took place during 2025 near Charleston, W.Va. 

There were at least four instances of distribution to a confidential informant involved in that investigation, authorities said. 

Elly was on parole at the time of that activity, the district attorney's office said. Michigan Department of Corrections records show his criminal history includes two drug-related convictions out of Wayne County, Michigan. 

"Franklin Fitzgerald Elly is a career criminal who has sold drugs in West Virginia and two other states. He has committed three of his drug-dealing crimes, including this one, while on parole or probation for a prior drug-related conviction," said United States Attorney Moore Capito. "As today's sentence shows, this office and our law enforcement partners are determined to go after those who seek to harm our communities to the maximum extent the law allows." 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation worked with the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team on the case. MDENT includes officers from 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 in West Virginia. 

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Justice.