Scranton man, charged in state and federal court, accused of attempting to pick up kilo of cocaine, pounds of meth
May 24—A federal grand jury indicted a 41-year-old Scranton man on drug trafficking charges and accused him of trying to take possession of large amounts of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine.
The indictment mirrors allegations brought earlier this month by the state attorney general's office, which accused Charles McKenzie of receiving shipments of drugs through the mail — including a kilogram of cocaine and 10 pounds of methamphetamine.
Asked if the same allegations underpin both state and federal cases, Dawn Clark, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, said in an email, "they are the same charges."
A spokesperson for the state attorney general's office did not return a message for comment.
Attorney Jason Shrive, who was listed on both state and federal dockets as McKenzie's lawyer, said McKenzie maintains his innocence. At a recent hearing in federal court, McKenzie's father and co-worker at a food distribution company had only positive things to say of him, Shrive said.
McKenzie, of 200 Adams Ave., Apt. 211, has been jailed at the Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $500,000 bail since his arraignment May 6 by Magisterial District Judge Kipp Adcock.
As of Wednesday, two state-level felonies — manufacture, delivery or possession of intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance — remained pending. McKenzie is scheduled for a preliminary hearing June 1.
On May 17, Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Karoline Mehalchick ordered McKenzie be detained pending trial on two counts of attempt to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
McKenzie pleaded not guilty in federal court to both counts. Jury selection there is slated to begin July 17.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny P. Roberts is prosecuting the federal case.
Federal filings contain few details of the case that investigators say they built against McKenzie.
A probable cause affidavit filed in support of charges brought in the the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas details how authorities intercepted drugs in the mail, and how McKenzie tried to pick them up using a name other than his own.
The packages were shipped from Los Angeles to the UPS Store on Main Street in Dickson City, the affidavit states. They were addressed to a man named "M. Lackey."
On May 5, a man entered the store inquiring after a package for "Lackey." The package had the same information as a parcel seized the prior day, which contained a kilogram of cocaine.
An employee at the store reported the package could not be found. McKenzie needed to return to work, but wrote down his phone number on a piece of paper along with the name "M. Lackey."
Investigators, who had been at the store conducting follow-up interviews at the time, detained him as he approached his car.
The package McKenzie sought was not lost, the affidavit states. Investigators obtained a search warrant after a drug-sniffing dog examined it.
Inside, they found 10 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in a speaker, according to the court filings.
At McKenzie's home, they found a money counter and $3,590 in cash. They also found a vacuum sealer, bags and other packaging material.
McKenzie had speakers in his living room — the same kind in which police just found drugs.
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