PCP Trafficker Sentenced to 60 Months for Role in Wide-Ranging Narcotics Conspiracy

WASHINGTON - Kenneth Watts, 59, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 60 months in prison in connection with his role in a conspiracy to distribute phencyclidine (PCP), announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

Watts was convicted by a federal jury on May 20, 2025, in U.S. District Court on one count of conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of PCP. In addition to the 60-month prison term, Judge Jia M. Cobb ordered Watts to serve five years of supervised release.

According to court papers, a two-year investigation by federal and local law enforcement uncovered a narcotics trafficking network operating in the metropolitan area. The network distributed large quantities of cocaine, fentanyl, and PCP and relied on firearms to protect its operations and drug proceeds.

Watts's role in the conspiracy centered on obtaining bulk shipments of liquid PCP from a supplier in California. On Sept. 23, 2020, Prince George's County police intercepted a package containing six kilograms of PCP at a FedEx facility in Maryland. The package was addressed to a fictitious name at an address in Temple Hills, Maryland.

Officers conducted a controlled delivery to the address. After the package was dropped off, they observed Watts retrieve it and enter the residence. He emerged carrying a suitcase and drove away. He was pulled over a short distance from the house. Officers recovered the PCP from the suitcase in the truck bed. Laboratory testing confirmed the substance was approximately six kilograms of PCP.

A search of Watts's cellphone revealed text messages with the California supplier, including the delivery address and a fictitious recipient name. His phone also showed he had messaged a co-conspirator asking him to call "asap" the day before the package arrived. Evidence showed the co-conspirator later contacted Watts when seeking to obtain PCP.

Co-defendant, James Kinard, 48, of Temple Hills, Md., also was found guilty by the jury on May 20, 2025, on the PCP conspiracy count, and additionally found guilty of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. Sentencing for Kinard is pending.

 Three other co-defendants pleaded guilty before the case went to trial. Melvin Grayson, 52, of District Heights, Maryland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine, more than 40 grams or more of fentanyl, and more than one kilogram of PCP and was sentenced to 120 months. Tyrone Ragland, 57, aka "Tech," of the District, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to distribute one kilogram of PCP and was sentenced to 180 months. Charles Cunningham, 59, of the District, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and was sentenced to 180 months in prison.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Washington Field Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Division Office, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the Prince George's County Police Department.

The matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nihar R. Mohanty and Iris Y. McCranie.

Police recovered six kilograms of PCP from a suitcase Watts had stashed in the back of his vehicle.

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