TRENTON - Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that a Camden man who was dealing large quantities of PCP was sentenced to a lengthy prison sentence today.

Raymond Thomas, 34, of Camden, was sentenced to 10 years in state prison, including five years and nine months of parole ineligibility, by Superior Court Judge Michael J. Kassel in Camden County.  Thomas pleaded guilty on Aug. 26 to a first-degree charge of possession of PCP with intent to distribute.  He was arrested in January and was indicted in May.

The charge resulted from an investigation by detectives of the New Jersey State Police who learned that Thomas was selling PCP from his residence in the 1000 block of Atlantic Avenue in Camden.  The State Police executed a search warrant at his home on Jan. 25, 2013, seizing more than 40 grams of PCP and $4,452.  In pleading guilty, Thomas admitted that he intended to sell the PCP found in his home, and he agreed to forfeit the seized cash as proceeds of his criminal activity.

“PCP is a particularly volatile drug which can induce violent or self-destructive behavior, as witnessed by several murders attributed to PCP in Camden in recent years,” said Acting Attorney General Hoffman.  “By peddling this deadly drug, Thomas showed a callous disregard for others.  This lengthy prison term will stop him from dealing his poison on the streets of Camden.”

“Drug trafficking in general contributes directly to crime and violence, and PCP is especially destructive because of its impact on users and those around them,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “Thomas was a major PCP dealer, and now he is going to prison for a long time.”

Deputy Attorney General Rachael Weeks took the guilty plea and handled the sentencing for the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau.  The investigation was conducted by the New Jersey State Police Crime Suppression South Unit.

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