Francisco Roche, a 35-year-old resident of the District of Columbia, has been sentenced to 110 months in prison for drug trafficking and illegal firearms possession. The U.S. District Court handed down the sentence following Roche's involvement in distributing liquid PCP packaged in baby bottles within the Petworth neighborhood.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, Special Agent in Charge Ibrar A. Mian of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Washington Division, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Roche, also known as "Roach," entered a guilty plea on February 14, 2025, to charges of conspiracy to distribute phencyclidine (PCP) and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. In addition to his prison term, Judge Beryl A. Howell mandated that Roche serve five years under supervised release.
Court documents reveal that Roche and an accomplice conducted multiple PCP sales to confidential police informants and others. On December 4, 2023, he sold approximately eight ounces of liquid PCP in a baby bottle to an informant. Further transactions occurred on December 13, involving five ounces of PCP similarly packaged, along with fentanyl-laced powder and crack cocaine.
Roche was apprehended at his residence on December 22, 2023. During a search warrant execution at his home in Northwest Washington D.C., law enforcement discovered drugs and tools related to drug distribution including liquid drippers and additional quantities of liquid PCP.
In another incident on December 7, MPD officers found a black handgun inside a parked car near 12th Street NW and H Street NW before stopping Roche as he attempted to enter the vehicle. Officers recovered a loaded Ruger LC9 pistol from the scene.
Despite being detained at the Department of Corrections Central Detention Center after his arrest on December 22, Roche continued coordinating with his co-conspirator for further distribution activities involving PCP.
The investigation was conducted by both the Metropolitan Police Department and DEA Washington Division while prosecution efforts were led by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany V. Wynn alongside Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Strong.
