Lee County Man Indicted and Detained for Armed Drug Trafficking

A Rogers, Ky., man, Robert Lutes, 50, was indicted on April 17 by a grand jury sitting in Lexington for four counts of distributing fentanyl, two counts of distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, one count of possessing with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, one count of possessing with the intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

The indictment alleges that from February 6 to March 26, 2025, Lutes possessed and distributed fentanyl and methamphetamine in Lee County. The indictment also alleges that on March 26, 2025, he possessed a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. 

Paul McCaffrey, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; John Nokes, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, Louisville Field Division; Phillip J. Burnett, Jr., Commissioner of the Kentucky State Police, jointly announced the indictment.

The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the ATF and KSP.  The indictment was presented to the grand jury by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paco Villalobos.

Lutes was detained in custody on April 17, as he awaits a trial scheduled for June 25, 2025. He faces a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison. However, any sentence following a conviction would be imposed by the Court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal sentencing statutes.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood

           Any indictment is an accusation only. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.