20 Years in Prison for DC Man Who Ran Drug House in Quiet Neighborhood

A Washington, DC man who police say ran a “lucrative drug trafficking operation” from inside his mother’s home in a residential neighborhood in Northeast DC was sentenced to nearly 20 years in federal prison.

31-year-old Antonio Christian Payne was sentenced in U.S. District Court after being convicted of ten felony charges in December 2023, including drug trafficking and weapons charges.

Payne was arrested after an incident in broad daylight on April 18, 2022, outside the home on Baldwin Crescent.

According to documents, Payne brandished a firearm at a possible intruder, whom Payne believed was staking out his residence to steal drugs. 

The alleged intruder returned minutes later and opened fire in a drive-by shooting at Payne’s stash house and Payne’s cousin who was outside. The cousin was not injured. 

Law enforcement agents responding to the shooting entered the house by consent. That’s when they discovered a “base of operations for Payne’s lucrative drug trafficking operation.”

Upon obtaining a warrant and searching the house, agents found a multitude of controlled substances, including nearly 750 grams of fentanyl, more than 125 grams of pure crystal meth, 240 grams of cocaine powder, 175 grams of cocaine base, and $26,000 in cash.

The drugs were protected by a “small arsenal of assault rifles, handguns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, firearms accessories, and a bullet proof vest.” Officers seized six firearms, including one ghost rifle and four semi-automatic 9mm pistols.

Besides the nearly 20-year prison sentence, Payne was also sentenced to five years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force and the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys from the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses Section (VRTO).