Four District Men Charged with PCP Conspiracy and Gun Crimes

            WASHINGTON – A 21-count superseding indictment, unsealed today in U.S. District Court, charges four Washington D.C. men — Lamont M. Langston, 43; Jamar Bennett, 44; Norman Morris, 43; and Kelvin Sanker, 42 — with distributing and conspiring to distribute mass amounts of phencyclidine (also known as PCP) in the metropolitan region, and with firearms offenses, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the FBI Washington Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget, of the DEA Washington Division.

            According to court documents, the defendants organized a drug trafficking organization that packaged and distributed multiple kilograms of PCP in the District of Columbia. Jamar Bennett allegedly sold PCP to undercover officers on numerous occasions in 2023 and 2024.  The PCP was supplied by Langston, with assistance from Morris and Sanker. Bennett and Morris are also alleged to have dealt fentanyl in the District of Columbia, with Bennett selling large quantities of fentanyl to an undercover officer.

            Langston was arrested on February 25, 2024, by MPD officers after fleeing from a police cruiser and discarding a handgun that had been converted into a machinegun with a “giggle switch.”  Langston hid from law enforcement in the Watts Branch tributary stream until he was located with help from an MPD helicopter and extracted with an MPD K9. From Langston’s person, coat, and vehicle, law enforcement recovered an AK-style Mini Draco pistol loaded with 22 rounds of ammunition, a water bottle containing an amber liquid that tested positive for PCP, and nearly $10,000 in cash. Langston made his initial appearance in District Court on March 1, 2024. 

            Bennett was arrested March 6, 2024, and made his initial appearance the same day.  During a search of his residence, law enforcement recovered a Ruger LC9 handgun. Today, April 17, Morris was arrested in Anne Arundel County and Sanker was arrested in Washington D.C. Morris and Sanker also made their first court appearances today.

            All four defendants are charged with conspiring to distribute PCP. Langston is also charged with using, carrying, and possessing a machinegun in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense; and with two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a person convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. Bennett is charged with five counts involving the distribution of fentanyl, and nine counts involving distribution of PCP. Morris also faces a fentanyl distribution charge. 

            This investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

            The case is being investigated by DEA and FBI. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Stempel and Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Roman of the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses Section.

            An indictment is merely an allegation that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.