OAKLAND — A Martinez resident has been indicted on drug trafficking charges, two years after a Contra Costa Sheriff’s deputy reportedly searched his car and found five pounds of methamphetamine and 2,000 pills containing fentanyl, according to court records.
Kory Kingsley, 51, was charged by a grand jury with possessing methamphetamine and fentanyl for distribution, and the former charge carries a maximum of life in prison. Prosecutors have also moved to seize roughly $3,100 in cash and a pistol allegedly found in his possession, the indictment says.
Kingsley remains in federal custody for now. At a July 9 court hearing, Judge Donna Ryu said she was willing to release him on “lockdown” to a halfway house in San Francisco once a bed becomes available, according to a minute order of the hearing. He’s due in court again next month.
Court records say Kingsley was the subject of a Contra Costa Sheriff’s investigation in 2022, after a confidential informant accused him of being a drug dealer. Investigators placed a tracking device on his Chevrolet and on May 25, 2022, they followed him as he traveled around Pleasant Hill, Pacheco, and other locations making suspected drug deals.
A deputy finally pulled over the Chevrolet, and searched it after a Pittsburg police K9 “alerted” to the presence of drugs in the vehicle, according to police. Inside, authorities reportedly found the five-pound bag of methamphetamine, four ounces of heroin, 100 ecstasy pills, and 2,000 pills containing fentanyl, according to court records.
Meanwhile, at Kingley’s Jordan Court home, police arrested a woman on suspicion of attempting to conceal evidence and drug possession when she began loading a vehicle with various items from the house. The car was later found to contain cocaine, marijuana, fentanyl, a suspected meth pipe, and $3,820 in cash. The woman refused to talk to police and they released her without charges, authorities said.
A loaded firearm and ammunition were found inside a safe in the home, authorities said.
