PHILADELPHIA, PA — A Marcus Hook man identified by federal prosecutors as the leader of a Northeast Philadelphia drug trafficking group was sentenced to 23 years in prison for narcotics and firearms offenses, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.
U.S. District Judge Juan R. Sánchez sentenced James I. Watts, 41, also known as “Chubbs,” to 276 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
Watts pleaded guilty in September 2025 to two counts each of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He had been charged in a superseding indictment in May 2023.
According to court filings and statements cited by prosecutors, Watts led the Crown Royal Gang, which authorities linked to the distribution of methamphetamine, cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin and fentanyl in Northeast Philadelphia.
The FBI and Philadelphia Police Department began investigating the group in early 2020, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Investigators later conducted surveillance near the Oxford Village Housing Project at 6150 Algon Ave., focusing on a yellow Ford E250 van registered to Watts.
From October 2020 through March 2021, investigators observed Watts and other alleged gang members placing items into or removing bags from the van, prosecutors stated.
On March 12, 2021, investigators allegedly saw Watts remove a black plastic bag from the van, enter a white Acura TL and drive away. Philadelphia police stopped the vehicle shortly afterward and determined that Watts was driving with a suspended Pennsylvania license, according to prosecutors.
Officers recovered $4,000 in cash while patting Watts down, the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated. A police narcotics dog subsequently alerted to the Acura and the Ford van, leading investigators to obtain search warrants for both vehicles.
Authorities reported recovering more than a kilogram of cocaine, along with quantities of crystal methamphetamine, heroin, oxycodone pills and crack cocaine. Investigators also seized drug-packaging materials, multiple cellphones and four handguns, according to prosecutors.
The FBI and Philadelphia Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Everett Witherell and Lindsey Mills prosecuted it.
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