Adam Michael Kelly, 38, of Port Townsend, Washington, left a dying man in a car outside a hospital emergency room — then called for help only after fleeing the scene. Today, he pleaded guilty to federal charges of possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute and being a drug user in possession of firearms, admitting his role in a deadly drug operation that stretched across state lines.
The victim, a 43-year-old man, was found unresponsive in the vehicle on March 27, 2019, after using drugs at Kelly’s home. Kelly and his then-girlfriend dropped him at the emergency room entrance, made a call to hospital staff, and disappeared. The man died within twenty minutes. Police traced the call to Kelly’s residence and moved in fast.
Search warrants uncovered a high-capacity drug manufacturing hub in the basement: pill presses, lab equipment, ventilation hoods, and more than 75 pounds of Schedule III controlled substances — mostly illicit steroids. Records seized show Kelly ran a profitable nationwide business shipping designer drugs to buyers across the U.S., turning his home into a toxic warehouse of chemical crime.
But the lab wasn’t the only danger zone. In his bedroom, Kelly stockpiled six firearms: two Glock handguns, a Bersa .22 caliber, a Winchester shotgun, a Remington 700 rifle, and a Bushmaster AR-15 assault rifle. Two silencers were found — one attached to a .40 caliber Glock in the lab, the other in the bedroom. Tactical gear and ammunition littered the scene. As a documented drug user, Kelly is legally barred from owning any firearm.
At the time of his arrest on March 28, 2019, Kelly was in possession of both heroin and methamphetamine. He’s now serving a 68-month state sentence for controlled substance homicide tied to the same case. Under a global resolution, federal prosecutors and defense attorneys will jointly recommend a 66-month sentence, to run concurrently with the state term. U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle will decide the final sentence at the November 2, 2020 hearing — with the potential for up to ten years behind bars.
The investigation was led by the Port Townsend Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, and FBI, with support from multiple federal and local agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Dreher is prosecuting the case. Kelly’s dual life — dealer, manufacturer, arms hoarder — ended not with a shootout, but with a dead man left in the cold light of a hospital driveway.
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Key Facts
- State: Washington
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Weapons
- Source: Official Source ↗
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