WASHINGTON — A fentanyl supplier for the violent Kenedy Street Crew was sentenced Friday to more than 18 years in prison for his role in a massive conspiracy to traffic the opioid into D.C.
David Penn, aka “Turtle,” 31, was one of more than a dozen alleged members of the gang, also known as “KDY,” indicted last year as part of a sweeping federal case involving drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms charges. Members of the gang, which operates open-air drug markets between the 100-1200 blocks of Kennedy Street NW in D.C.’s Brightwood neighborhood, have been linked by authorities to dozens of violent crimes in the region over the years, including a spree of armed robberies and carjackings for which two KDY members were sentenced to more than 15 years in prison each earlier this year.
Penn pleaded guilty in June to one count of conspiracy to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and two counts of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He was sentenced Friday to 220 months, or more than 18 years, in prison by U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell.
According to prosecutors, Penn was a bulk fentanyl supplier who trafficked drugs and guns into the Kennedy Street Neighborhood. During a five-month period alone between December 2022 and May 2023, Penn allegedly sold undercover officers more than 250 grams of fentanyl and several firearms across 17 controlled buys.
Of the 17 alleged KDY members charged in connection with the investigation, at least 15 have now pleaded guilty. They include one of the group’s leaders and money launderers, Kenneth Ademola Olugbenga, who pleaded guilty in August to conspiracy and firearms charges. As part of his plea, Olugbenga admitted the gang had received an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) for one of his front companies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Olugbenga told investigators the gang had used the money from that loan to purchase bulk narcotics which they later sold in the D.C. area.