FORMER IMPD OFFICER PLEADS GUILTY TO UNLAWFUL
DISCLOSURE OF WIRETAP INFORMATION

PRESS RELEASE

Timothy M. Morrison, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, announced that NOBLE DUKE, 39, Indianapolis, late Friday afternoon, entered a guilty plea to unlawfully disclosing the contents of federally authorized wiretaps with the intent to obstruct or impede a criminal investigation. DUKE was charged by information in U.S. District Court on March 18. This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

“Compromising criminal investigations by alerting persons to their imminent arrest creates situations that endanger both law enforcement officers and the public,” said Morrison. “Fortunately, no one got hurt here, but we were only lucky.”

According to facts submitted to the Court Friday, and agreed to by all parties, DUKE was a sworn police officer with IMPD (and formerly IPD) starting in February 2001. DUKE resigned his position about March 17, 2008. In April 2005, DUKE was assigned to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Achilles Task Force, where he worked until he was relieved of his task force duties in August 2007.

The Achilles Task Force is made up of federal, state and local law enforcement officers; the Achilles Task Force, along with DEA and FBI had been actively investigating numerous cocaine trafficking organizations in the Indianapolis, Indiana area. As part of these investigations, federal agents and law enforcement officers conducted court authorized interceptions of wire communications over the cellular telephones used by numerous individuals who were part of several interrelated cocaine distribution groups, including the Shawn Young Organization, the Emory Young Organization, the Paula Rush Organization, the Duane Sturdivant group, the Lawrence Brookins and Kemu Sanders group, the James Carter, Jr. and Jeffrey Carter organization, and Faren Carter.

Between January 2007 and June 19, 2007, DUKE was working as a monitor of wire communications at the Indianapolis District Office of the FBI. DUKE was monitoring wire communications of telephones used by Roy Lampkins and another group of individuals, totally unrelated to the court authorized interceptions of the groups mentioned above. The court authorized interceptions of the two unrelated investigations took place in the same room at the FBI. This room is where DUKE performed his duties as a monitor in the Lampkins investigation. Posted on the wall and displayed in a prominent place in that room were the names, identifying information and telephone numbers of Shawn Young, Emory Young, Lloyd Fuentes, Paula Rush and others. DUKE overheard information received from the Shawn Young phone interceptions from an ATF agent.

Between May 18, 2007, and June 16, 2007, on two to three occasions, DUKE was asked by an individual to find out about the federal investigation involving Paula Rush, Christopher Hendren and others. DUKE obtained several pieces of information and illegally disclosed that information to this individual. The information which DUKE illegally disclosed included that Paula Rush and others were under investigation, that their phone conversations were being intercepted, that an indictment was pending, and that police officers would be coming to arrest people on a certain date. DUKE also told the individual that he could lose his job for giving out this information.

On June 19, 2007, a federal grand jury in Indianapolis returned nine sealed indictments, charging a total of 36 individuals with drug trafficking crimes. On June 21, 2007, over 150 law enforcement officers participated in the attempted arrest of these defendants as well as the execution of 19 federal search warrants. Of the 36 defendants charged, 18 were arrested, three subsequently surrendered, and 15 were fugitives on June 19. The fact that 15 of the defendants were not arrested and became fugitives at that time was due at least in part to the knowledge that law enforcement officers were coming to arrest them, that is, the information illegally disclosed by NOBLE DUKE.

According to Assistant U. S. Attorney John Dowd, who is prosecuting the case for the government, DUKE faces a maximum possible prison sentence of five (5) years and a maximum possible fine of $250,000.00. DUKE entered his guilty plea pursuant to a plea agreement filed with the charging document on March 18. At sentencing, the government will recommend a sentence within the advisory range proscribed by the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines as found by the Court to apply to DUKE. A sentencing hearing will be held before U. S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker within about seventy (70) days.

The information is an allegation only, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at trial or by guilty plea.

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