UPDATE (09/11/2023): An initial hearing for Eric “Lil E” Butler was held on Monday, Sept. 11. Butler was released from jail on a $60,000 bond and has been placed on GPS monitoring.
Updated charges against Butler now include dealing cocaine, dealing other narcotics and unlawful handgun possession. The video above is from previous reporting on the case.
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INDIANAPOLIS — Police saw 14 people run out of a house on Indy’s near east side yesterday during a drug raid that ended in the arrest of a high-ranking member of the former Grundy crew after he hopped out of an attic window.
Indiana State Police troopers working in Indianapolis executed a search warrant on Wednesday at a house suspected to be connected to former local drug kingpin Richard Grundy in the 3100 block of E. Washington Street.
During the raid, ISP troopers arrested 33-year-old Eric Butler of Indianapolis on cocaine dealing charges. Butler, our reporting shows, is a high-ranking member of the former Grundy crew in Indianapolis.
The search warrant and arrest of Butler were the result of an ISP investigation into alleged crack cocaine dealing on the city’s near east side.
Court records show that a confidential informant for ISP had conducted several controlled buys at the Washington Street residence between Sept. 3 and Sept. 6 that yielded several grams of crack cocaine.
Troopers also saw three different people quickly enter and exit the residence within 10 minutes. ISP said is commonplace for houses selling narcotics to have high volumes of traffic that last a short time.
After one of the buys, ISP said the trusted informant described the Washington Street residence as a duplex. The informant said there is a hole in the wall of the house that provides access to the other side of the duplex and that the hole is covered by a mirror.
ISP said that this practice is also commonplace amongst drug dealers looking to escape or hide narcotics during raids. The informant added that the suspected dealer, later identified as Butler, controlled who could enter which side of the house and when.
Following several controlled buys and stakeouts of the area, ISP troopers were granted a search warrant and conducted a raid with SWAT teams around 6:20 p.m. Wednesday. Eventually, many people poured out of the house and the suspected dealer was spotted upstairs.
“After numerous commands, fourteen individuals came out of the back and front of the duplex,” court docs show. “After several minutes and multiple commands, a Black male later identified as Eric Butler came out of the attic window and was taken into custody.”
FOX59/CBS4 crews at the scene of the raid saw the confrontation between Butler and the police and said that Butler eventually jumped out of the house’s attic window, which is only accessible from one side of the duplex.
Court records show that Butler was read his Miranda Warning and that the suspect then told troopers he “did not have paint on his clothes” or person. It is unclear why Butler said this and is not explained in the court documents.
ISP troopers then removed some cash totaling $95 from Butler’s pants pocket and wallet. Butler asked why the troopers were counting his money, but it is unclear if a response was given.
Troopers eventually determined that the money in Butler’s pocket was the same ISP buy money that their confidential informant had used to purchase crack cocaine. Also found on Butler was an Atlas key that opened the back door and a “Must Obey Bosses Forever” gold necklace.
ISP and SWAT then searched the inside of the duplex. The search yielded:
- Multiple digital scales in the kitchen and bathroom
- A portable police scanner device
- An opened box of plastic bags
- A DVR from the kitchen area
- Another $95 of ISP buy money
- 55 grams of crack cocaine
- 29 grams of powder cocaine
- 12 grams of fentanyl
- Glassware with suspected drug residue
- A Smith and Wesson 9mm semi-automatic pistol
- A Smith and Wesson magazine with six 9mm rounds
Many of the items recovered, ISP noted, were found stashed in various holes and hidden closets throughout the duplex.
Following a search of the residence, ISP troopers interviewed the 14 individuals found inside. After warrant checks were conducted on the 14 people, they were all released.
Butler, ISP said, was then arrested and taken to the Marion County Justice Center. He faces a preliminary charge of dealing cocaine, a level 2 felony.
