Repeat offender who triggered neighborhood lock-down pleads guilty to drug and gun crimes

Seattle – A 42-year-old Seattle man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Pedro Fernandez Kent will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez on December 8. 2023. Prosecutors have agreed to recommend no more than ten years in prison, but Judge Martinez is free to impose any sentence allowed by law.

According to records filed in the case, on January 15, 2023, Seattle Police were responding to a domestic violence report in North Seattle when they spotted the distinctive car driven by the suspect, Pedro Kent. Kent attempted to flee from police crashing his car into two curbs, rupturing the tires. Kent abandoned the car and ran into the yards of neighboring homes. Video from area cameras show Kent with a handgun in his hand as he ran into a back yard. Police converged on the area, alerting residents to stay in their homes with the doors locked. One couple called police reporting that the defendant appeared to be hiding in their backyard. A K-9 officer helped take Kent into custody.

In addition to the gun Kent carried when he ran from the car, police located a carbine rifle in the car as well as distribution amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine. Kent also had a hatchet and a dagger in the car as well as scales and plastic baggies for drug distribution.

Kent was prohibited from possessing firearms due to previous King County convictions for burglary, theft, assault, and trafficking in stolen property.

The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF).

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.