INDIANAPOLIS -- Prosecutors agreed to drop more charges against an alleged member of the "Grundy Crew" this week.
William Alonzo Gammon III was charged in February 2015 with conspiracy to commit murder, dealing in cocaine, unlawful possession of a firearm and resisting arrest.
Charged along with him were Adrian Juan Bullock Jr., Ronnie Lee Batts Jr., Lance Lamont Hatcher Jr., and Richard Grundy III – all alleged to be members of a criminal organization run by Grundy.
In October 2015, Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry held a joint press conference with ATF and other law enforcement agencies announcing a slew of charges – among them racketeering, murder, conspiracy to commit murder and cocaine dealing – against Grundy and 10 others, including Bullock. Gammon was not charged in that case.
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Curry called Grundy the leader of "a dangerous gang intent on distributing drugs in our community and promoting violence and fear."
But since then, prosecutors have run into hurdle after hurdle.
Gammon and Bullock were both scheduled for jury trials Wednesday, but neither ended up in a court room.
On Tuesday, prosecutors agreed to drop cocaine dealing charges against Gammon if he pleaded guilty to the lowest charge of resisting arrest. The conspiracy to commit murder charges were previously dropped against all the defendants in the February 2015 case due to evidentiary issues. A sentencing hearing was scheduled for next month.
Bullock's trial date was moved to December 1. He also has a trial date scheduled later in December stemming from the February 2015 charges.
Last week, the double murder trial of another alleged Grundy associate, John Means, ended in a hung jury. Means is accused in two separate double murders – and of accepting money from Grundy to commit them. He goes to trial next month for the second set of murder charges. A retrial for the first set was scheduled to begin January 30 of next year.
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In April, prosecutors were forced to drop four murder charges against Grundy when a key witness was found to have lied to police about her identity. He was released on bond in August after being briefly transferred to Texas on unrelated charges of dealing marijuana.
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Other alleged Grundy associates have similarly avoided conviction:
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Ronnie Lee Batts Jr. had all four counts of conspiracy to commit murder, cocaine dealing and carrying a handgun without a license dismissed in connection with the February 2015 case.
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Lance Lamont Hatcher Jr. similarly had all three counts of dealing in cocaine and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon dismissed from that case.
- Grundy himself had the three charges against him – two counts of dealing cocaine and one count of carrying a handgun without a license – dismissed in that case.
Currently, Grundy and 10 alleged associates are scheduled for jury trials in December.
