LOUISVILLE, Ky. – United States Attorney Russell Coleman today announced federal indictments returned against multiple individuals in Louisville, Kentucky, as a result of civil unrest in Jefferson County during the period Monday, June 1, through Wednesday, June 3, 2020.  The defendants charged are alleged to have engaged in robbing area pharmacies, a carjacking, and the illegal possession of firearms.

“Our black neighbors and the safety of the neighborhoods in which they live matter,” said U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman. “Which is why looting local pharmacies for dangerous drugs, carrying weapons as a convicted felon, carjacking, and a felon traveling to our city to put police and protestors at risk will not be tolerated by federal law enforcement here. These federal charges, with more to come, seek to respond to lawlessness that has nothing to do with constitutionally-protected protest and everything to do with exploiting Louisville’s challenges for their own gain.”   

“Protecting our community’s First Amendment right to peacefully protest is of utmost importance to the FBI. The individuals named in these indictments attempted to subvert peaceful protests for their own personal gain and ultimately threatened the rights and safety of law-abiding citizens,” Special Agent in Charge Robert Brown, FBI Louisville Field Office. “FBI Louisville will continue working alongside our law enforcement partners to identify, locate, and apprehend those exploiting nonviolent protests and to ensure individuals wanting to be heard can do so safely.”

“At the request of the Attorney General, ATF has deployed resources and is supporting our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to uphold the rule of law,” stated ATF Louisville Division Special Agent in Charge, R. Shawn Morrow. “These defendants threatened the safety of Metro Louisville and were acting outside of residents who were peacefully assembled. Further, ATF will continue to aggressively investigate the illegal use of firearms and the often resulting violent crime in order to secure the safety of our communities.”

Pharmacy Robberies

● Vontreil Bailey, 30, of Louisville, has been charged with conspiracy to commit burglary involving controlled substances. According to a criminal complaint, on June 2, 2020, LMPD responded to a burglary in progress at Walgreens on 5201 S. 3rd St. Louisville, Kentucky. Police observed multiple people fleeing the business when they arrived.  Bailey was detained at that time with the prescriptions still in hand.  During a Law Enforcement interview on June 6, 2020, an employee of the business advised that the burglary had severely affected Walgreens’ ability to conduct business as patients prescriptions had been stolen, and the pharmacy was left in disarray.

Bailey has numerous previous convictions including: multiple convictions for theft by deception, menacing, fleeing and evading police, wanton endangerment, robbery and burglary.

● Jean-Pierre Crowdus, 31,  Frederick D. Eaves, 31, and Channel Lewis, 26, all of Louisville, Kentucky, have also all been charged federally with Conspiracy to Commit Burglary Involving Controlled Substances for breaking in and looting at the CVS drug store at 3130 Portland Avenue, Louisville, Kentucky.

Eaves has also been charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

The charges carry a penalty of no more than 10 years, a maximum fine of $250,000 and no more than three years of supervised release.

Carjacking

● Damion Lemont Hayes, 20, of Louisville, Kentucky, has been charged with carjacking. Hayes was on a felony diversion at the time of the carjacking as a result of a February 2020 conviction for charges that were initially filed as complicity to murder and complicity to robbery.

According to a criminal complaint, on June 2, 2020, the victim was driving a black 2017 Subaru Forester with a friend down Bardstown Road. The two victims ran into protestors and police activity on Bardstown – they parked to see what was going on. As the victims were walking they were asked for a ride by two females and five males. They all walked back to the victims’ Subaru, however, only three of the males got in the car.

The victim continued to drive down Bardstown, but was caught in traffic. According to the victim, she was uncomfortable with the men in the car, and told them she needed to get gas. She was directed by one of the men to BP, where one of the men put $20 worth of gas in the Subaru. The driver was then directed to drive to three different houses.

The victim reported she wanted the men out of the car, and as she turned to tell them she needed to get home one of the men in the rear passenger side of the car pointed a gun at her. At that point both victims were forced out of the car. The men attempted to take their cell phones, according to the complaint. A minor struggle ensued and one of the men was sprayed with mace by the owner of the car.

The victims reported they were left at Strader and Wheeler Street in Louisville at 12:23 a.m. on June 3, 2020.

On June 4, 2020, at approximately 1:40 a.m. LMPD officers were in pursuit of the Subaru, which flipped into the median off I-64. At that time five people were inside the vehicle, all of whom were taken to the University of Louisville Hospital. One of the occupants at the time of the crash was defendant Hayes, who was arrested by LMPD on state charges.

The federal carjacking charge carries a penalty of no more than 15 years, a maximum fine of $250,000 and no more than three years of supervised release.

Felons in Possession of Firearms

● Brian N. Dean, Jr., 24 of Louisville, is charged by a Grand Jury Indictment with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. According to a criminal complaint, on June 3, 2020, LMPD officers responding to a call of shots fired identified Dean as a person who matched the description of a subject who pointed a gun at an individual. Officers approached Dean, upon noticing the outline of a gun in his pocket he was detained, and officers recovered a Glock, model 43, 9mm, with a loaded magazine.

Dean was previously convicted in Jefferson County, Kentucky, with Robbery in the Second Degree (two counts) and Burglary in the Second Degree; all felonies.

● Tevin R. Patton, 27, of Memphis, Tennessee, has also been charged for being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. The federal criminal complaint asserts that the Memphis, Tennessee, man drew a firearm in downtown Louisville. 

According to the criminal complaint, on Monday, June 1, 2020, at approximately 10:20 pm Patton was viewed by law enforcement who were conducting surveillance near South 5th St. in downtown Louisville. During the surveillance, a U.S. Secret Service special agent observed Patton pull out a gun.

Law enforcement at the scene then dispersed the crowd with tear gas and flash bang devices, striking Patton with pepper balls once he was observed pointing the gun in the air. Upon being struck by the pepper balls, Patton ran to his car and fled the scene. Police then stopped Patton’s vehicle and located a Springfield Armory USA, model XDs-45, .45 caliber pistol in his vehicle, partially loaded with four rounds remaining in a ten round magazine.

In 2013, Patton pleaded guilty to Aggravated Burglary, a felony, out of Tennessee. Additionally, in 2016 Patton pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, a felony, out of Tennessee. In 2016, Patton was charged with 4th Degree Domestic Violence and Fleeing or Evading Police, 1st Degree.

If convicted at trial, the maximum sentence for being a convicted felon unlawfully possessing a firearm is no more than ten years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Secret Service, and the Louisville Metro Police Department are investigating these cases.

 

The indictment of a person by a Grand Jury is an accusation only and that person is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

 

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – United States Attorney Russell Coleman today announced the charging of three individuals for Conspiracy to Commit Burglary Involving Controlled Substances.

“These charges have nothing to do with legitimate protest activity and everything to do with looting a neighborhood pharmacy,” said U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman. “This lawlessness places protestors, police, and near-by families at risk, and will be met with swift federal arrest and prosecution.”

Three defendants, Jean-Pierre Crowdus, 31,  Frederick D. Eaves, 31, and Channel Lewis, 26, all of Louisville, Kentucky, have been charged in the criminal complaint.

According to the complaint, on Thursday, June, 4, 2020, at approximately 1:15 a.m. law enforcement officers were dispatched on a commercial alarm at the CVS drug store at 3130 Portland Avenue, Louisville, Kentucky.

Upon arrival, law enforcement witnessed Channel Lewis in the driver’s seat of a vehicle parked outside the pharmacy, and officers located defendants Crowdus and Eaves inside the store.

Video shows Eaves forcing entry into the CVS with a crowbar. Eaves and Crowdus entered the pharmacy. Once inside Eaves forced open the accordion-style pharmacy window and crawled through, searching the pharmacy and placing items into a trash bag. Eaves also attempted to force open the pharmacy safe with the crowbar. The video outside the store also shows defendant Lewis sitting outside the pharmacy in the car – acting as lookout and awaiting the group get-away.

A search of the vehicle by police revealed a Smith & Wesson M&P .40 caliber handgun located next to the driver’s seat, it was purchased in late July of 2019 in Louisville by another individual.

A federal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offense charged and must be made under oath before a United States Magistrate Judge.  The charge set forth in a complaint is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Louisville Metro Police Department are investigating the case.

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