U.S. Attorney’s Office Charges Three for Looting of Neighborhood Pharmacy During Civil Disturbance
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – United States Attorney Russell Coleman today announced the charging of three individuals for Conspiracy to Commit Burglary Involving Controlled Substances.
“These charges have nothing to do with legitimate protest activity and everything to do with looting a neighborhood pharmacy,” said U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman. “This lawlessness places protestors, police, and near-by families at risk, and will be met with swift federal arrest and prosecution.”
Three defendants, Jean-Pierre Crowdus, 31, Frederick D. Eaves, 31, and Channel Lewis, 26, all of Louisville, Kentucky, have been charged in the criminal complaint.
According to the complaint, on Thursday, June, 4, 2020, at approximately 1:15 a.m. law enforcement officers were dispatched on a commercial alarm at the CVS drug store at 3130 Portland Avenue, Louisville, Kentucky.
Upon arrival, law enforcement witnessed Channel Lewis in the driver’s seat of a vehicle parked outside the pharmacy, and officers located defendants Crowdus and Eaves inside the store.
Video shows Eaves forcing entry into the CVS with a crowbar. Eaves and Crowdus entered the pharmacy. Once inside Eaves forced open the accordion-style pharmacy window and crawled through, searching the pharmacy and placing items into a trash bag. Eaves also attempted to force open the pharmacy safe with the crowbar. The video outside the store also shows defendant Lewis sitting outside the pharmacy in the car – acting as lookout and awaiting the group get-away.
A search of the vehicle by police revealed a Smith & Wesson M&P .40 caliber handgun located next to the driver’s seat, it was purchased in late July of 2019 in Louisville by another individual.
A federal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offense charged and must be made under oath before a United States Magistrate Judge. The charge set forth in a complaint is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Louisville Metro Police Department are investigating the case.
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