INDIANAPOLIS – Despite years of trying, Marion County prosecutors have never convicted a member of the alleged Grundy crime family for murder – although they’ve linked them to a trail of bodies dating back to at least 2013.
On Thursday, sources close to the family said it appeared that trail had caught up to the family as an unidentified gunman or gunmen opened fire on the funeral procession of 28-year-old Jasmine Moore, injuring three people.
Among those shot was Richard Grundy III, Moore’s cousin and the alleged leader of the “Grundy Crew” – an organization prosecutors have described as “a dangerous gang” intent on distributing drugs and promoting violence.
PHOTOS | The Alleged Members of the 'Grundy Crew'
Multiple sources with knowledge of the Grundy family told RTV6 that Grundy had a $50,000 bounty out on his head at the time of the shooting.
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“He’s hurt so many different families man, it’s just all kinds of people coming after this guy,” one source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. “It’s really a dangerous situation for our city, because wherever they see him, they’re going to shoot.”
In October 2015, prosecutors announced charges against 11 alleged members of the Grundy Crew as part of an investigation into what they described as a large-scale drug-trafficking organization.
The criminal charges outlined a multi-state drug-trafficking ring prosecutors said moved thousands of pounds of marijuana from Phoenix to Indianapolis.
Several of the alleged gang members, including Grundy, were already facing separate charges of dealing and conspiracy to deal cocaine stemming from a Jan. 29, 2015 case involving a police chase on the northeast side in which shots were fired at officers.
Included in both of those cases were multiple counts of murder and conspiracy to commit murder for the family’s alleged role in at least seven deaths since 2013.
The Grundy Crew’s Alleged Bodycount
Kendrid Mintze (Oct. 21, 2013)
A body found lying dead in an east-side street is identified as 21-year-old Kendrid Mintze. Police said he died of a serious injury to the head.
Tyrece Dorsey & William Davis (Jan. 28, 2014)
Officers arrive at a Citgo gas station near East 19th and Rural streets around 7 p.m. to find 23-year-old Tyrece Dorsey and 25-year-old William Davis suffering from gunshot wound after a gunman apparent lying in wait opened fire on them. Dorsey was shot multiple times as he tried to flee. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Davis was transported to Eskenazi Hospital, where he later died.
Carlos Jefferson & Julius Douglas (Feb. 1, 2014)
Police responding to a report of shots fired discover Carlos Jefferson, 22, and Julius Douglas, 23, inside a truck on the 3400 block of North Hovey Street. Both have been shot multiple times and are declared dead at the scene.
Terry Hunter & Roemello Carney (April 4, 2014)
Two men are found shot to death in a car on the far-east side, near 38thStreet and Post Road on the 9200 block of Beechtree Court. Police later identify them as 19-year-old Roemello Carney and 21-year-old Terry Hunter.
Actually prosecuting the Grundys for those murders has proven to be difficult, though.
In April 2016, prosecutors dropped four murder charges against Grundy himself after a key witness was found to have lied to police about her identity.
MORE | Murder charges dropped against alleged ‘Grundy Crew’ leader
That witness told police her name was Porche Harris. According to probable cause documents, she identified herself as Porche Harris in July 2015 when giving a statement about a homicide investigation.
In September 2015, she signed a Department of Justice form to receive cash because she was a relocated witness. She received $1,000 from the Department of Justice in cash to help cover living expenses.
During the course of the investigation, she provided the investigators with three addresses where she would be staying in Georgia. Investigators eventually determined two of the addresses did not exist.
Nevertheless, from September 2015 to February 2016, she received a total of $6,098 from the U.S. Department of Justice, until it was discovered she had lied about her identity. The real Porche Harris told police her license had been lost or stolen some time before.
Other witnesses against Grundy have either balked at the prospect of testifying against him, or never come forward to begin with.
“This guy has a long arm,” a source with knowledge of the family told RTV6 on condition of anonymity. “He can reach you. “
The man police identified as the Grundy Crew’s alleged hitman, John H. Means, similarly avoided conviction for his alleged role in two 2014 double murders.
According to probable cause affidavits filed in the case, investigators believed Grundy had ordered Means to kill four men: Tyrece Dorsey, William Davis, Carlos Jefferson and Julius Douglas.
Dorsey, 23, and Davis, 25, were found fatally shot on Jan. 28, 2014, after a gunman apparently lying in wait opened fire on them at the Citgo gas station near 19th and Rural streets.
Just three days later, on Feb. 1, 2014, police responding to a report of shots fired discovered Carlos Jefferson, 22, and Julius Douglas, 23, inside a truck on the 3400 block of North Hovey Street. Both had been shot multiple times and were declared dead at the scene.
Means first went to trial on charges of murder in Jefferson and Douglas’ deaths – but a jury was unable to reach a verdict. He was found not guilty during a retrial in February.
In April, prosecutors announced they were dropping the murder charges against Means in the Dorsey and Davis case due to evidentiary issues.
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Means was released from the Marion County Jail following the dismissal of the murder charges, but was arrested again four days later on unrelated drug and firearms charges.
Since dismissing the murder charges against Grundy and Means, prosecutors have brought cases against other alleged members of the Grundy Crew with mixed success:
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Richard Grundy Jr. – Grundy III’s father pleaded guilty in March to his role in the alleged multi-state marijuana trafficking ring run by his son. In exchange for a plea of guilty to conspiracy to commit dealing in marijuana, a class “C” felony, prosecutors agreed to drop charges of conspiracy to commit murder, corrupt business influence and criminal gang activity. Grundy Jr., who served 344 days in the Marion County Jail before the plea, was sentenced to time served plus one year of non-reporting probation.
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Amanda M. Grundy – Amanda Grundy was sentenced on July 13 to 130 days behind bars with credit for 65 days already served after pleading guilty to one count of assisting a criminal. Charges of dealing in marijuana, corrupt business influence, criminal gang activity and conspiracy to commit murder were dismissed.
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Adrian Bullock Jr. – Bullock, 26, pleaded guilty in March to one felony count of dealing marijuana. Like Grundy Jr., charges of conspiracy to commit murder, corrupt business influence and criminal gang activity were dismissed. Bullock was also sentenced in July 2016 to 41 months in prison on federal weapons charges.
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Avery Bullock – In June, Judge Mark Stoner sentenced 25-year-old Avery Bullock to three years on work release, with credit for 547 days served in jail, after Bullock pleaded guilty to dealing in marijuana, resisting law enforcement and carrying a handgun without a license. In exchange, prosecutors dropped charges of corrupt business influence, criminal gang activity and conspiracy to commit murder.
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William Alonzo Gammon III – Gammon was charged in February 2015 with conspiracy to commit murder, dealing in cocaine, unlawful possession of a firearm and resisting arrest in a case along with Adrian Juan Bullock Jr., Ronnie Lee Batts Jr., Lance Lamont Hatcher Jr. and Richard Grundy III – all alleged members of the Grundy Crew. Gammon pleaded guilty in November 2016 to the lowest charge of resisting arrest and was sentenced to 24 days behind bars and 706 days on home detention. Charges of dealing and possession of narcotic drugs and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon were dismissed in an unrelated case in February.
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Ronnie Lee Batts Jr. – All four counts of conspiracy to commit murder, cocaine dealing and carrying a handgun without a license were dismissed in connection with the February 2015 case.
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Lance Lamont Hatcher Jr. – All four counts of conspiracy to commit murder, dealing in cocaine and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon dismissed in connection with the February 2015 case.
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Eric David Butler – On Friday, four charges of conspiracy to commit murder were dismissed against Butler in Marion County Superior Court. He still faces charges of dealing in marijuana, corrupt business influence and criminal gang activity. No trial date was currently set.
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Anthony O’Brien Tinnin – Charges of conspiracy to commit murder against Tinnin were dropped on June 29. He continues to face charges of dealing in marijuana, corrupt business influence and criminal gang activity. Tinnin was also arrested on July 10 in an unrelated case on preliminary charges of dealing and possession of narcotics, carrying a handgun without a license and dealing and possession of marijuana.
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Shawntee Boss – Three charges of conspiracy to commit murder were dismissed in June. A jury trial on the remaining charges of dealing in marijuana, corrupt business influence and criminal gang activity was scheduled for August 14.
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David C. Carroll – Four charges of conspiracy to commit murder were dismissed in June. A jury trial on the remaining charges of dealing in marijuana, corrupt business influence and criminal gang activity was scheduled for August 14.
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Deon Johnson – Three charges of conspiracy to commit murder were dismissed in June. A jury trial on the remaining charges of dealing in marijuana, corrupt business influence and criminal gang activity was scheduled for August 14.
- Victor Tinnin-Wells – Four charges of conspiracy to commit murder were dismissed in June. A jury trial on the remaining charges of dealing in marijuana, corrupt business influence and criminal gang activity was scheduled for August 14. Wells was charged with new counts of dealing in cocaine, dealing in a narcotic drug, possession of cocaine and narcotics, unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon and maintaining a common nuisance on July 12 in an unrelated case.
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