Missouri man sentenced to 20 years in prison for PCP conspiracy

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City man was sentenced in federal court Thursday for leading a conspiracy to distribute the illegal hallucinogenic drug known as PCP.

Gerald W. Jones, 42, was sentenced Sept. 4 to 20 years in federal prison without parole. Jones had previously pleaded guilty May 12 to leading a conspiracy to distribute at least one kilogram of PCP. Jones is among 11 defendants who have pleaded guilty to the charges contained in a November 2012 federal indictment.

This sentence resulted from an investigation titled Operation Dirty Glass conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Kansas City (Missouri) Police Department, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Operation Dirty Glass is a multi-agency investigation into large-scale PCP-trafficking in the Kansas City metropolitan area that has thus far resulted in a series of indictments charging 22 defendants.

Undercover detectives and informants purchased PCP and crack cocaine from Jones on more than 20 separate occasions during the course of the investigation. A wiretap was authorized to assist investigators to identify Jones’ suppliers, associates, customers and locations used in his drug trafficking operation. Investigators intercepted hundreds of drug-related telephone calls between Jones and his associates between Aug. 28 and Nov. 9, 2012. Investigators learned from the wiretap that Jones was primarily a PCP dealer who also sold crack cocaine.

Jones used various sources of supply for his drug trafficking business and would regularly sell bottles, containing dealer quantities, of PCP to his customers. Investigators learned that PCP dealers would commonly dip cigarettes into the bottles containing liquid PCP and then distribute the PCP-dipped cigarettes, commonly called “sticks,” to PCP users.

On Nov. 14, 2012, investigators served a search warrant at Jones’ residence. During the search of Jones’ kitchen, investigators located numerous bottles that had been used to store PCP and several full bottles containing approximately 75 grams of PCP.