Charges: Violent felon turned informant double-crossed FBI, Seattle police Informant in investigation accused of freelancing PCP, pistol purchases

A Top Hat man fresh from prison may be headed back following allegations he betrayed his FBI and Seattle police handlers after going to work as a paid informant.

Calvin Manley Smith is alleged to have bought several vials of PCP from a Seattle-area dealer targeted by investigators. Prosecutors contend Smith, 37, double-crossed investigators who planned to use him in an investigation targeting drug and gun dealers.

Sentenced in 2011 to four years in prison for beating his ex-girlfriend, Smith had been free six months before the new allegations were leveled against him. Federal prosecutors now say Smith armed himself against his handlers' instructions.

Smith’s history as an informant was not detailed in charging papers. Writing the court, an FBI special agent said Smith was working as a paid informant at the time, as he’d done previously.

Describing Smith's criminal history as "alarming," King County Deputy Prosecutor Ian Ith cast Smith as a menace and threat to public safety.

"He is willing to commit serious, dangerous felonies right under the noses of law enforcement," Ith said in state charging papers. Smith has since been charged in federal court.

On July 3, Seattle Police Department gang unit detectives, working with the FBI, hoped to have Smith buy PCP and a gun from a suspected dealer known as “Thumper.” A gang unit detective and an FBI agent planned to meet Smith in South Seattle before the sale.

Prior to their arrival, though, other detectives watching the meeting location saw "Thumper" drive past. The detectives followed him and watched as he pulled his minivan into the parking lot of a Georgetown gas station.

As the detectives looked on, Smith arrived at the gas station in his black Monte Carlo, a Seattle detective said in charging papers. Smith then stepped out and walked to the minivan, where he spoke with the investigation’s target.

Investigators suspected Smith had set up a drug or gun sale outside their watch. The surveillance team followed Smith away from the gas station, and arrested him after it became clear he didn’t plan on meeting with his FBI and Seattle police handlers as planned.

A 29-year-old woman riding with Smith was carrying a pistol and a vial of PCP, according to charging papers. Two more vials were found stuffed in her bra when she was booked into jail.

Smith is alleged to have admitted the woman was holding the .38 cal. pistol for him. According to charging papers, Smith claimed he bought the pistol from another man, not "Thumper."

According to charging papers filed in U.S. District Court, Smith’s companion told investigators Smith planned to hand the PCP he bought from "Thumper" to investigators. The FBI agent noted Smith had been warned against committing crimes outside the direction of his handlers.

Ith, the King County deputy prosecutor, noted that Smith spent nearly a decade in prison for drug crimes and leading police on a high-speed chase. He’s been caught fleeing police 11 times, including a 2001 incident that saw him beat an informant in a speeding van – before the informant threw himself out to escape.

“Any gaps in his criminal history are explained only by the fact that he was locked up,” Ith told the court.

Initially charged in state court, Smith now faces a federal firearms charge. He remains jailed without bail.

Check the Seattle 911 crime blog for more Seattle crime news. Visit seattlepi.com's home page for more Seattle news.

Seattlepi.com reporter Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com. Follow Levi on Twitter at twitter.com/levipulk.