Kennedy Street Crew used COVID-19 loan to buy drugs in bulk, leader admits in plea deal

WASHINGTON — A leader of the notorious Kennedy Street Crew pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charges Thursday as part of a deal that will send him to prison for at least a decade.

Kenneth Ademola Olugbenga 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.  

As part of his plea deal, Olugbenga admitted he served as a leader and money launderer for the gang. Since June 2020, Olugbenga admitted he had washed drug money for the gang through two businesses he started – Heavy Baggz LLC and HBG LLC – as well as through casinos. He also admitted at least one of those businesses had received an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The gang used the money from that loan to purchase bulk narcotics, according to the plea deal.

In total, between 2019 and 2023, Olugbenga admitted he’d received more than $600,000 in income as part of the gang’s drug-trafficking operation – which he said involved at least 700 kilograms, or more than 1,500 pounds, of drugs. According to a detention memo filed in the case, investigations into KDY members have resulted in the seizure of hundreds of pounds of marijuana, fentanyl and oxycodone pills, crack cocaine and dozens of firearms. Ten firearms were recovered during the January 2023 search of a KDY stash house on D Street NE alone. According to investigators, those guns were linked to at least eight shootings, including a November 2022 shooting outside Jackson-Reed High School.

On Thursday, Olugbenga pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, crack and marijuana and one count of possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking offense. He will face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, and an estimated guideline range of 157-181 months, or 13-15 years.

As part of the deal, Olugbenga will avoid additional charges for firearm possession by a felon and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Olugbenga was scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell on Dec. 13. He was ordered to remain in the custody of the D.C. Jail, where he has been held without bond since his arrest in June 2023.

Of the 17 alleged KDY members charged in connection with the investigation, 13 have now pleaded guilty. As of Thursday, no trial date was currently set for the remaining four defendants.