Layton man accused of leading drug ring involving kids

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LAYTON, Utah — An attack on a teenage boy in Layton has led to the discovery of a suspected drug ring involving kids.  Police say their suspect recruited teens to sell drugs through social media. 

Layton drug ring

The investigation into Preston Kilpatrick started after police received a call from the family of a juvenile. The family claimed Kilpatrick and two teens attacked the juvenile for stealing marijuana.  Layton Police Detective Clint Bobrowski says Kilpatrick pointed a fake gun at the victim and asked if he should shoot.  The attack was reportedly caught on video.

“Audio that was captured on the video certainly leads us to believe that the victim definitely perceived that his life was in danger,” Bobrowski said.

As police looked into Kilpatrick’s social media messages, they reportedly found an Instagram group called “P-Dawg’s Little Drug Runners,” where he recruited teens to distribute things like THC cartridges and mushrooms.

“He had created a group of juveniles throughout here, in Layton City, and he was using them to have them post on their social media accounts, advertising that they had drugs for sale,” Bobrowski said.

Nine counts

Kilpatrick was booked into the Davis County jail on nine counts, overall, including drug possession and child endangerment.

“In terms of charges, we added the child endangerment charge on top of it because of the fact that he was using children to distribute the drugs,” Bobrowski said.

Plus, Kilpatrick was booked for one count of rioting stemming from the attack they were first called to investigate.

He said, “When you recruit and you have more than three people involved in an assault, then the rioting charge also gets attached to it.”

Bobrowski says Kilpatrick and a teen were discussing how they would plan an attack on an eighth grader. And the juvenile involved was looking into getting a gun.

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