INDIANAPOLIS — 7 Indianapolis residents and a Muncie resident were indicted on federal drug charges for their alleged roles in a drug trafficking operation.
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana announced the indictments Tuesday. The indictments come after an investigation dating back to the fall of 2019.
The U.S. Attorney’s office said throughout the investigation, investigators learned of meetings in Muncie where methamphetamine would be transported back to an auto repair store in Indianapolis to be distributed. During one of these trips, the office said the Fishers Police Department stopped a vehicle where one of the suspects allegedly thew a bag containing methamphetamine and heroin out.
On Monday, 16 search warrants and federal arrest warrants were served by federal agents and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers. One source told FOX59 two men were taken into custody at a house and car storage yard in the 5300 block of Massachusetts Avenue where investigators discovered guns and ammunition.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the searches uncovered 31 illegally-possessed firearms, 4.5 pounds of methamphetamine, .5 kilograms of cocaine, 1 kilogram of fentanyl and approximately $272,000 representing the proceeds of drug trafficking.
“During these challenging times, the last things we need in our neighborhoods are more crime guns, more fentanyl, more methamphetamine, more cocaine, more heroin, and more drug money. I commend the hard work of the FBI, the IRS and the IMPD who combined their limited law enforcement resources in order to remove a criminal organization that sought to financially profit by infesting our city’s streets with more guns, more drugs and more blood money.”
United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler
Those charged include:
- Christopher Shelton a/k/a Horse, Indianapolis, 41
- Scot Nelson, Indianapolis, 37
- Joshua Douglas, Muncie, 38
- Marguerite Collins, Indianapolis, 45
- Jarrad Cooney, Indianapolis, 32
- Jason Corey, Indianapolis, 47
- Antonio Turner a/k/a Trapper a/k/a Tone, Indianapolis, 32
- Stephen Cole, Indianapolis, 43
Assistant United States Attorney Michelle P. Brady, who will prosecute this case for the government, says the defendants face up to life imprisonment, a $10,000 fine, and five years of supervised release.
Crime Stoppers is also looking for Halton Butler and Gary Hatcher in connection with the FBI raids. anyone with information on their whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 317-262-8477.
