An Inglewood man was arrested Thursday after he allegedly ordered bulk quantities of at least one chemical used to make PCP leading federal authorities to find over four pounds of the hallucinogenic drug in his possession, officials announced Friday.
On Friday, federal prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against William Cless Hubbard Jr., 63, charging him with possession with intent to distribute phencyclidine, or PCP, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.
During a search of Hubbard’s residence Thursday, authorities found a one-gallon jug containing “amber liquid which tested presumptively positive for PCP,” the DOJ said. And, during a search of a business owned by Hubbard, officials found 55-gallon drums containing precursor chemicals that can be used to manufacture PCP and are regulated under the Controlled Substances Act.
Authorities started investigating him in October 2019, when they learned of a shipment containing four drums of bromobenzene from China being sent to a South L.A. beauty supply business owned by Hubbard. Bromobenzene has a number of uses, including being used in the manufacturing of PCP.
After the bromobenzene was delivered in December 2019 to the company located on West Manchester Boulevard, law enforcement began surveilling Hubbard.
Authorities say they observed him distributing suspected chemicals to several locations a number of times in 2020, including to a building in Long Beach where a clandestine PCP lab was discovered in May.
Hubbard is being detained until his trial, and his arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 18.
If convicted on the narcotics charge alleged in the complaint, he could face a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison, according to the DOJ.