Kenneth Watts, 59, of Upper Marlboro, was sentenced to 5 years in prison after federal officials said he played a role in a PCP trafficking conspiracy in the D.C. region. The case came through court records, not just one police encounter.
Authorities described a two-year investigation into a network moving PCP, fentanyl, and cocaine across the metropolitan area. Other defendants are tied to the same case, which now turns on shipments, messages, and what prosecutors say each person did inside the operation.
On Sept. 23, 2020, Prince George’s County police intercepted a package at a FedEx facility in Maryland, according to court documents. Officials said the package contained 6 kilograms of PCP, which made the shipment central to the larger trafficking case.
Court records said the package was addressed to a fake name at a Temple Hills address. That detail matters because investigators were not only tracking drugs but also the delivery setup and the identity steps used to keep the shipment hidden.
Officers then conducted a controlled delivery and watched after the package reached the address. Court documents said Watts took it inside, later left carrying a suitcase, and drove away before police stopped him and recovered the PCP from the truck.
After the controlled delivery, officers stopped Watts shortly after he drove away from the Temple Hills address. Court documents said they recovered the PCP from a suitcase in the bed of his truck, and lab testing later confirmed the substance was PCP.
Investigators also searched Watts’ cellphone, where they said they found messages with the California supplier. Those messages included the delivery address and the fake name printed on the package, giving prosecutors a cleaner link between the shipment and planning itself.
Court records said the phone also showed contact with a co-conspirator who asked Watts to call him the day before the package arrived. Evidence later showed that the same person contacted Watts again to get the PCP, according to officials.
Watts was convicted in May 2025 of conspiracy to distribute PCP, then sentenced to 5 years in prison. Court officials said he must also serve 5 years of probation after release, making his punishment both custody time and long supervision.
James Kinard, 48, of Temple Hills, was found guilty in May 2025 on charges of PCP conspiracy and fentanyl distribution, but had not yet been sentenced. His pending outcome matters because prosecutors tied him to the same wider D.C. region network.
Three other defendants pleaded guilty before trial. Melvin Grayson, 52, of District Heights, received 10 years for a cocaine, fentanyl, and PCP conspiracy. Tyrone Ragland, 57, of D.C., and Charles Cunningham, 59, of D.C., each received 15 years.
Debate around this Maryland PCP case is about how regional drug networks use ordinary delivery systems and shared contacts. A 6-kilogram package, a fake Temple Hills name, and messages with a California supplier show why investigators treated it as organized trafficking, not random possession.
Next chapters should focus on James Kinard’s pending sentence, any post-trial filings, and how prosecutors explain each role. Watts received 5 years, while Grayson, Ragland, and Cunningham drew longer sentences, showing how one conspiracy can carry very different outcomes.