Indianapolis drug kingpin gets life in federal prison

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A federal judge sentenced the leader of a violent Indianapolis-based drug trafficking ring to life in prison Thursday.

U.S. District Chief Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson handed down the sentence to Richard Grundy III, 30, following his August convictions on drug-trafficking and money laundering charges.

Federal prosecutors said Grundy was the leader of a drug-trafficking organization that distributed more than 400 pounds of methamphetamine and large amounts of heroin, cocaine, and marijuana in Indianapolis from August 2016 through November 2017.

'œMr. Grundy was under the mistaken impression he and his crew could run their criminal enterprise and flaunt their illegal activities in the face of the law without fear of consequence," said Special Agent in Charge Grant Mendenhall of the FBI in Indianapolis. 'œToday's sentence sends a strong and clear message to him and others '“ illegal drug trafficking, witness intimidation and violence will not be tolerated in Indianapolis, or anywhere in Indiana,'ť