Lafayette robbery call later turns up 23 lbs of spice, 2 arrested
LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) – Lafayette police arrested two people after a report of a robbery later turns up 23 pounds of spice.
Police responded to the initial robbery call on Brady Lane, near Pheasant Run Apartments, Thursday at 9:30 a.m. When officers arrived, they found a man with facial injuries from a fight. It was later determined the robbery took place at an apartment inside the complex on the 3000 block of Yorktown Court.
The man told detectives he had been hit with a baseball bat and his property was stolen from his pockets. He told police he knew the attackers and the subjects were later located in Claystone at the Crossing apartment complex.
Police located the subjects and search warrants were obtained. Authorities said in addition to the items collected for the robbery investigation, items related to drug distribution were also found.
Investigators claim the following items were collected: 23 pounds of spice, raw material used to manufacture spice, a small-caliber handgun, paraphernalia and roughly $6,200 in cash.
Lafayette Police Sgt. Scott Anderson said the bust was a step forward for this area.
“There was a lot located there, and not just what we located there we also located evidence that he had received other shipments as well,” Anderson said. “So this is something that’s been going on for awhile.”
Police arrested two subjects – Sharmeka Gray, 29, of Waterloo, Iowa, and Lawrence Lucas, 31, of Lafayette. Both Gray and Lucas were taken to the Tippecanoe County Jail.
Anderson said it’s not common to see a battery case turn into a large drug bust.
“A lot of times battery crimes will lead to a warrant arrest, or something along those lines or a protection order violation arrest, but something like this – I mean, it does happen,” Anderson said.
Gray faces charges for robbery with a deadly weapon and battery with a deadly weapon.
Lucas faces charges for dealing in and possession of a synthetic drug, possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon and maintaining a common nuisance.
Lafayette police said the investigation into both incidents remain ongoing.