Indy man sentenced to federal prison after police seize 90 pounds of meth inside vehicle

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indy man has been sentenced to federal prison after police recovered 90 pounds of meth inside his vehicle following a vehicle pursuit on the city’s near east side two years ago.

According to a sentencing order obtained by FOX59/CBS4, Jeffrey Groves has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release.

The sentencing stems from Groves’ initial arrest on narcotics-related charges after officers reportedly seized two packages containing methamphetamine on Jan. 13, 2023. This occurred after detectives with the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, Drug Enforcement Agency and IMPD’s East District Violence Reduction Team collaborated to investigate potential drug activities in the 200 block of Parkview Avenue.

As police tried to conduct a traffic stop on a suspect vehicle in the area, IMPD said the driver, who police identified as Zakahia Roney, ignored officers’ instructions before driving off in an attempt to flee the area. Roney soon exited the vehicle and began fleeing on foot before officers brought her into custody a short time later. Groves, who was a passenger in the vehicle, was also apprehended in the 2900 block of East Michigan Street while he was still in the car.

IMPD said a narcotics K9 identified as Jada alerted officers on the scene to the possible presence of narcotics inside the vehicle. Detectives subsequently applied for a search warrant, granting them approval to search the vehicle and a residence on Parkview Avenue.

The search concluded with investigators recovering 90 pounds of methamphetamine, which IMPD estimated to be worth roughly $270,000 in street value.

According to court documents, Roney is set to be sentenced on June 24 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine in November.