A Cincinnati man was sentenced for attempting to gouge out a trooper’s eyes while being detained, according to Indiana State Police.
Gregory C. Lucas, 20, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempted robbery after messaging a person selling a van on Facebook Marketplace and offering to buy it for $4,500, cocaine, and marijuana, according to an ISP post.
The inquiry began when the seller called troopers after agreeing to meet at an Amoco gas station in St. Leon on September 17th. Two plainclothes state police officers were on the spot, waiting for Lucas to arrive.
“You know you have someone on Facebook Marketplace offering to exchange drugs for an item that’s obviously some cause for concern, so that information was passed on to troopers from the Indiana State Police,” Sergeant Stephen Wheeles said.
Lucas was seen strolling around with a black ski mask, black jacket, and black fleece in 90-degree weather, digging through belongings before troopers confronted him.
“We had plain clothes officers in the area observing—observing what they believe to be the suspect show up, and he was obviously acting very suspicious when he showed up there due to the clothing he was wearing and his kind of behavior. That’s when the troopers in uniform showed up to conduct a further investigation to determine what actually was taking place,” Sergeant Wheeles said.
Lucas informed cops he was there to buy a vehicle and displayed transaction communications, but he mistakenly showed officers the mention of weed.
While physically resisting the soldiers, Lucas allegedly tried to gouge one trooper’s eye while biting him. The altercation resulted in multiple injuries for the two state police officers.
“Any time there’s some kind of wrestling match where you’re trying to get someone into custody, that’s going to cause some injuries, but then specifically the suspect appears to have caused one specific trooper more injuries,” Wheeles says to FOX19 NOW.
Troopers eventually searched Lucas and discovered a loaded Glock handgun and a pocketknife. After obtaining a warrant, troopers discovered messages indicating an intent to rob two victims.
Lucas was first accused of attempted armed robbery, three counts of battery on a public safety official, and resisting arrest. Lucas was convicted of attempted armed robbery as part of the negotiated plea agreement, and the remaining counts were dismissed.
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