During multiple search warrants, law enforcement seized 35 firearms and a machinegun conversion device, along with drug contraband and cash.
INDIANAPOLIS – A federal grand jury returned a 28‑count indictment charging 12 alleged members of a racketeering enterprise accused of orchestrating widespread criminal activity in Indianapolis, including murder, kidnapping, assault, arson, drug trafficking, and illegal firearms crimes. The first of these defendants made their initial appearance today in the Southern District of Indiana.
“The superseding indictment in this case alleges, among other things, that these defendants shot and killed a man for slamming the door of a drug house, shot another man in the leg for a $40 drug debt, pistol-whipped at least two other people, and dealt all manner of drugs, including heroin, fentanyl, crack cocaine, and methamphetamine,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This type of alleged drug dealing and violence ruins communities, people, and their families. Drugs and gang violence are a scourge. These groups will be dismantled and prosecuted.”
“The allegations in this indictment describe a criminal organization that maintained a grip on Indianapolis neighborhoods for years through fear, violence, and devastation,” aid U.S. Attorney Tom Wheeler for the Southern District of Indiana. “We will not allow groups that traffic deadly drugs, terrorize residents, and retaliate against witnesses to operate with impunity. We are grateful for the outstanding work of our federal, state, and local partners whose collaboration made today’s charges possible.”
“Violent criminal organizations that use fear, intimidation, and physical violence to further their operations have no place in our communities,” said Timothy J. O’Malley. “This case reflects the FBI’s commitment to working alongside our law enforcement partners to identify, investigate, and hold accountable those responsible for fueling violence and organized criminal activity. We will continue using every available resource to protect the public and pursue those who believe they can operate above the law.”
“This criminal organization brought violence and chaos into our community, impacting countless lives,” said Deputy Chief of Criminal Investigations Kendale Adams. “Through strong partnerships with our state and federal law enforcement partners, we identified and apprehended violent offenders and removed them from our neighborhoods. This type of strategic investigation and enforcement is essential to holding those who threaten the safety of our community accountable.”
According to court documents, between early 2019 and December 2024, the criminal organization known as the “Crown Hill Enterprise” allegedly operated to enrich its members and associates through the distribution of methamphetamine, crack cocaine, powder cocaine, heroin, oxycodone pills, and fentanyl. The organization maintained at least 11 “trap houses” throughout Indianapolis and created fictitious business entities to conceal the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of its illicit proceeds.
The enterprise sought to preserve, expand, and protect its power, territory, reputation, and profits through intimidation and acts of violence, including murder, kidnapping, assault, arson, threats of violence, and the display of firearms. On multiple occasions, defendants Tre J. Dunn and Tanesha Turner beat and shot individuals they believed had stolen drug proceeds, were associated with rival drug dealers, or owed a drug debt to the gang.
As alleged, on November 3, 2024, Turner and an associate kidnapped an individual over a $40 debt related to fronted narcotics. Tre Dunn later shot and wounded the individual over the debt. The next day, Dunn and another gang member beat and fatally shot a victim after he allegedly disrespected Turner by slamming the door of a trap house.
As part of the workings of the gang, defendants and other gang members allegedly sought to obstruct law enforcement investigations by intimidating potential witnesses and retaliating against those they believed cooperated with police. On April 23, 2024, defendant Nahamani I. Sargent and other gang members fired gunshots and threw Molotov cocktails at a residence where they believed an individual had provided information to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department that led to the execution of a state search warrant at one of the organization’s trap houses.
During multiple search warrants, law enforcement seized 35 firearms and a machinegun conversion device, along with drug contraband and cash.
The Department of Justice Violent Crime and Racketeering Section, FBI Indianapolis, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department are investigating this case.
U.S. Attorney Wheeler thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bradley Blackington and Kelsey Massa, as well as Trial Attorney Samuel Benjamin Tonkin of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section, who are prosecuting this case.
An indictment or criminal complaint are merely allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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