Those indicted are: Allan L. Bates, 37, of Fort Wayne; James W. Lepper, 66, of Butler; Larry J. Norton, 63, of Mission, Texas, and formerly of Fort Wayne; Eric D. White, 52, of Fort Wayne; Ryan Bowman, 35, of Payne, Ohio; and DeWayne Lewis, 40, of Greenwood, who was named in a separate indictment.
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Capp said the majority of the arrests were made in January and February. Bates, considered by law enforcement to be a key figure in the network, was arrested March 1. All the men are being held without bond.
Capp said the network also involved heroin and marijuana.
The indictments were the result of an extensive law enforcement investigation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Fort Wayne Safe Streets Task Force, consisting of the Allen County Sheriff’s Department, the Fort Wayne Police Department and the Indiana State Police, who executed 17 federal searches in Indiana, Ohio and Texas. The DeKalb County and Johnson County Prosecutor’s offices also obtained two state search warrants.
Bates, Lepper, Norton, White and Bowman face felony drug dealing charges — to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances, including 1 kilogram or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of heroin, a Schedule I Controlled Substance, 5 kilograms or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance, and marijuana, a Schedule I Controlled Substance, according to their indictment.
Capp said the drugs were transported from Mexico into Mission, Texas, where Norton lives, and then would make their way up to Indiana, and the cash would return to Mission.
Norton was pulled over by Indiana State Police on Nov. 7 in DeKalb County where police found $400,000 in hidden compartments within his truck, according to Capp.
Dewayne Lewis, 40, faces a felony drug dealing charge — by knowingly and intentionally possessing with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, including 5 kilograms or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance, according to his indictment.
Indiana State Police investigated Lewis’ actions on Feb. 3 at a Greenwood hotel, in which a woman brought a gym bag from a vehicle registered to Lewis to a particular room in the hotel and left without it, according to a probable cause affidavit. A certified drug dog was brought to the public hallway, where the dog alerted officers of the presence of narcotics from the suspected room.
Later that day, officers served a search warrant on the room, and Lewis was inside. Officers found a substantial amount of cash and a total of 19 packages of suspected cocaine. Each cocaine package was consistent in size with a kilogram, and one of the packages field-tested positive for cocaine, according to authorities.
Lewis was interviewed by the FBI on Feb. 4 , and Lewis admitted that he worked for a drug trafficking ring in Fort Wayne and that he was paid to transport cocaine and drug proceeds.
Lewis also said during the evening hours of Feb. 1, he went to a residence in Butler and retrieved the kilograms of cocaine and the cash from a pole barn. He said he then transported the cocaine and money to Greenwood and later to the hotel room where he was arrested.
This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony W. Geller.
Capp said the investigation continues, and other individuals of interest exist. “We’ve dismantled several networks,” Capp said. “We are organized. We know who you are, and we will get you.”
