Lexington Man Ramando Scoop Taylor Jr. Arrested After 28,000-Dose Fentanyl Seizure

Ramando “Scoop” Taylor Jr., 27, of Lexington was stopped along I-75 in Whitley County after investigators tracked his movements from Georgia through Tennessee into Kentucky, and he has been arrested and charged with distributing more than 40 grams of fentanyl and conspiracy. Authorities had set up a buy for Thursday and, “after receiving permission to track Taylor’s phone,” followed him on the interstate before pulling him over, according to charging material.

Hazard Police Captain James Grigsby, who serves on a DEA task force, presented an affidavit used to obtain arrest and search warrants and identified Taylor as a fentanyl supplier to Perry and Breathitt counties. Grigsby’s affidavit says Taylor was first identified “from information obtained by informants and cooperating defendants,” and investigators staged several undercover purchases of fentanyl from street‑level dealers and later from Taylor as part of the probe.

Evidence outlined in the affidavit includes at least one large controlled purchase: investigators say that in one instance back in September they purchased 111 grams of fentanyl for $2,000. That controlled‑buy figure appears alongside the criminal charge alleging distribution of “more than 40 grams of fentanyl,” a numerical discrepancy in the public charging narrative that the available documents do not reconcile.

Police describe a series of investigative steps leading to the stop and arrest: informant and cooperating‑defendant tips, staged undercover buys, and court authorization to monitor Taylor’s phone. The affidavit and the presentation for arrest and search warrants were prepared and submitted by Captain Grigsby; the public record released so far does not include a federal docket number, the specific courthouse handling the case, bond information, or a public statement from a prosecutor or defense representative.

Local law enforcement points to ongoing fentanyl enforcement across the region. Lexington Police Department reported that a Bluegrass Crime Stoppers tip on June 24, 2025, led to a separate seizure at the 4600 block of Saron Drive of 13.2 grams of fentanyl, 14.7 grams of crack cocaine, 35.5 grams of Xanax, 11.6 grams of marijuana and 2.2 grams of methamphetamine; two people were arrested and held at the Fayette County Detention Center, and Ronyell Downs, 38, was named among those charged. Shirley Riley, Bluegrass Crime Stoppers Board Chair, said, “Bluegrass Crime Stoppers is proud to provide our community with a safe and anonymous way to share information that helps make Lexington a safer place for everyone.” The Lexington Police Department Public Information Office can be reached at (859) 425-2255 or policepio@lexingtonky.gov.

Federal and regional enforcement actions underline the penalties tied to fentanyl trafficking: prosecutors have pursued lengthy sentences in related cases, including a recent federal sentencing of Eric Raheem Pierce, age 38, to 151 months in prison for distribution of fentanyl and possession of a stolen firearm. Investigators in a separate Harrison County probe also reported seizing 28,000 potentially lethal doses of fentanyl after an inquiry that began with a controlled purchase linked to an accused trafficker named Elijah Hamler.

Court filings and booking details for Ramando Taylor Jr. were not included with the initial charging materials released to the public; the affidavit by Captain James Grigsby is cited in the charging documents, and additional filings or a formal indictment should clarify the quantities, dates and jurisdictions involved as the case moves forward.