A man was sentenced to life in prison for his role as the leader of a major drug ring that distributed PCP and heroin in the Washington area.
Lonnell Glover, 48, of Temple Hills, Md., was also ordered to forfeit more than $1 million in proceeds from the conspiracy during a federal court hearing Thursday.
Authorities say Glover led a drug operation that obtained and distributed about 50 gallons of PCP and multiple kilograms of heroin in D.C. and Maryland between February and June 2007. In seeking a life sentence, prosecutors in a sentencing memorandum asked the court to consider,
"Glover's leadership role in this conspiracy and the magnitude of his PCP operation."
Judge Thomas Hogan agreed, describing Glover as "the leader of the largest PCP ring ever in D.C." Glover was apprehended when authorities busted the drug ring in June 2007.
He was convicted in November 2008.
Authorities say about 32 people have been charged in connection with the drug-trafficking scheme. Another of those, Jerome Hampton, 41, of Upper Marlboro, was also sentenced Thursday to 10 years and one month in prison for helping Glover obtain PCP from California. Hampton, authorities say, allowed Glover to have gallons of PCP shipped to his business office.
Glover would then retrieve the PCP from Hampton's office and pay Hampton for his help. The PCP they distributed had a total wholesale value of more than $1 million, prosecutors said. The FBI conducted a two-year investigation, including months of electronic surveillance, into the drug-trafficking operation.
Glover was also sentenced June 24 to 20 years in prison for his role in a separate cocaine-trafficking organization. The two sentences are to run consecutively.
Billy Ponds, Glover's attorney, filed an appeal of Glover's conviction in that case, and said Thursday he would also appeal Glover's conviction in the PCP and heroin case.
The appeals will challenge pretrial rulings, wiretaps and recordings, Ponds said.