1 of 25 indicted by feds to plead guilty to meth, heroin charges
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — One of more than 20 people indicted in November on federal drug charges has agreed to plead guilty, court documents show.
Frankie B. Ray, 29, initially had entered a plea of not guilty in the case in federal court in Indianapolis. He is not required to testify against others who were charged at the same time as him in indictments during August and November as part of the proposed plea agreement, according to his attorney, Joe Cleary. Federal prosecutors declined to comment on the proposed plea deal.
The deal proposes all but two charges to be dropped against Ray: conspiracy to distribute 1,000 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine, and conspiracy to distribute 1,000 or more grams of heroin.
Ray was among 25 people in two separate indictments announced Nov. 20. One of those indicted was Richard Grundy III, a man referred to by local authorities as a murderous gang leader. To date, Grundy has evaded serious jail time in numerous cases, including having murder charges dropped due to an unreliable witness. Known associates of Grundy — David Carroll and Lance Hatcher Jr. — were among those indicted in November.
In advance of the November indictments, numerous law enforcement agencies conducted raids Nov. 17 at 24 locations in Indianapolis and Phoenix, Arizona. Investigators said more than 30 guns, $100,000 in cash and numerous types of drugs were found during the raids.
The plea-deal proposal shows the FBI conducted wire and electronic surveillance of Ray’s cellphone from May 26 through June 24 and of a cellphone of a heroin supplier of Ray’s, Michael Sublett, from June 12 through July 10. On May 30, Ray delivered some heroin he obtained from Sublett to “another individual” who overdosed and went to Community South Hospital overnight before dying of the consumption of the heroin, the proposal said. As a result, Ray and Sublett were among seven people indicted in federal court Aug. 9 on heroin distribution charges.
Ray also had distributed an ounce of meth he had received from Hatcher on June 3 at the Constitution Gardens apartments, off Central Avenue south of 38th Street, the proposed plea deal shows.
One of the offenses in which Ray has agreed to plead guilty could come with a maximum sentence of life in prison because the heroin distribution resulted in a death. A judge would make the final sentencing decision.
No court dates for Ray or Grundy are listed in online court documents.
