CLEVELAND – A Summit County man has been sentenced to prison for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy involving approximately 7,000 fentanyl pills and 10 pounds of methamphetamine.Terrance Rucker, 43, of Akron, Ohio, was sentenced to 276 months (23 years) in prison by U.S. District Judge Bridget Meehan Brennan after a federal jury found him guilty in April of the following charges as outlined in the indictment:Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled SubstancesAttempted Possession with Intent to Distribute MethamphetamineAttempted Possession with Intent to Distribute FentanylPossession with Intent to Distribute FentanylRucker was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release after imprisonment. Judge Brennan imposed the sentence Oct. 9.According to the original criminal complaint, underlying affidavit and evidence presented in court, in November 2023, postal inspectors intercepted a suspicious package mailed from Phoenix, Arizona, that was destined for a home in Summit County. The residence was found to be associated with Rucker’s co-defendant, David R.
Collins, 44, of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, who was known to law enforcement for having a history of drug violations.Federal law enforcement agents with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) obtained a warrant to search the package in question. In it, they found 10 plastic bags filled with an off-white crystalline material. Inspectors also found a second vacuum packed bag containing blue pills marked with “M” on one side and “30” on the other.
The package contents were submitted to a forensic lab for analysis and tests confirmed that the white substance was approximately 10 pounds of methamphetamine. The blue tablets were confirmed to be 2.5 pounds of pressed fentanyl which were made to look like pharmaceutical-grade oxycodone hydrochloride pills. After the discovery of the narcotics in the package, agents searched the home that it was destined for and located Rucker with the package that once contained the narcotic substances, as well as a loaded revolver, three cellphones, a box cutter used to open the package, and anti-surveillance equipment.Collins was previously sentenced to 36 months in prison. A third co-defendant, Javay Cox, 37, of Phoenix, Arizona, was previously sentenced to 70 months in prison.
Both Collins and Cox were also ordered to serve three years of supervised release each.The investigation was conducted by the USPIS, DEA, HSI, and the Summit County Drug Unit, with assistance from the Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Segev Phillips and Stephanie Wojtasik and for the Northern District of Ohio.USPIS is the law enforcement branch of the United States Postal Service. To report mail theft or other crimes committed through, or towards, the United States Postal Service, call the USPIS at 1-877-876-2455 or visit uspis.gov/report.