Two Indianapolis men are facing federal charges after investigators found more than $2 million in cash, 30 guns and more than 270 pounds of marijuana stashed in a warehouse and the men’s homes, cars and an office.
Kelly Spinks Jr. and William Belew Jr. were arrested last week and charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana.
Authorities were monitoring the two men in relation to an ongoing narcotics investigation. On April 14, they started surveillance on a warehouse on 1849 S. Stout Field Drive after receiving a tip that the warehouse was being used to store drugs, according to court documents.
Around midnight, Spinks Jr. and Belew Jr. arrived at the warehouse in a black Chevrolet Impala. They got out of the car and carried a large bag and an unidentified item into the warehouse. About 20 minutes later, they opened the rear garage door and pulled a blue Ford Expedition into the warehouse.
Around 4:45 a.m., both men left in their separate cars and returned late in the afternoon. When the two men left again, investigators stopped them approximately a mile down the road from the warehouse and conducted a traffic stop. Multiple large cardboard boxes with packages of marijuana were sitting in the trunk of the Expedition. The marijuana was in heat-sealed, clear baggies, typical packaging for large scale distribution.
In total, investigators found roughly 70 pounds of marijuana in the men’s cars.
During the arrest, Belew Jr. claimed that Spinks Jr. “requested that he transport boxes that contained items belonging to Spinks. Jr.’s girlfriend,” according to court documents.
Later that day, investigators got a warrant to search the warehouse. Inside they found cardboard boxes like the ones in the Expedition and 200 packages of marijuana, weighing roughly a pound each. Also inside were clear plastic baggies, a digital scale, vacuum-sealing equipment and a 12-gauge shotgun. Additionally, they found large aluminum containers which, “appeared as though they were fabricated to conceal and transport marijuana in order to avoid detection by law enforcement,” according to court documents.
In Spinks. Jr.’s home, investigators found six boxes of ammunition for various firearms and a loaded magazine for a semi-automatic rifle. They also found a cardboard box with glass bottles of steroids and a spiral notebook with “handwritten descriptions of various strains of high-grade marijuana.”
After searching an Indy office building which Spinks Jr. had visited multiple times, investigators found more than $2 million in cash and more than 30 guns. Spinks Jr. has previous convictions of criminal confinement, driving with a suspended license, burglary and theft in Marion County. Belew Jr. has previous convictions of auto theft, driving with a suspended license, resisting law enforcement, possession of a handgun without a license and pointing a firearm at another in Marion County.
