INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man was sentenced to 27 years in prison for drug dealing and money laundering after he was arrested along Interstate 70 in Hancock County in 2018.
The U.S. Attorney's Office announced George West, 36, of Indianapolis was convicted of dealing heroin and methamphetamine, and sentenced to 27 years in prison, with an additional 20 years tacked on for money laundering. The sentences will run concurrently.
West was arrested after a traffic stop in November, 2018. A deputy with the Hancock County Sheriff's Office stopped west for erratic driving, and West, who was a convicted felon in California living under the name of Brandon Young, showed false identification, then became combative with the deputy, according to court records.
West ran from the deputy, then ended up back at the car he was driving. West tried to drive away and struck the deputy with the car. He was eventually arrested.
A K-9 officer detected possible drugs in West's vehicle, and a subsequent search turned approximately 3 pounds of methamphetamine. West admitted to possessing the drugs and said he had more at his apartment.
A search there found four loaded guns, approximately 500 grams of heroin, more than 300 grams of methamphetamine, along with other items related to illegal drug trafficking.
An investigation found that between May 2017 and November 2018, West bought money orders with his illegal drug money to pay rent at the apartment he used for his drug dealing.
To conceal the money laundering from drug sales, West used another person to sign the lease to the apartment and placed their name on the money orders he used to pay the rent. That amount totaled over $29,000, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The IRS, Homeland Security, DEA, IMPD and Hancock and Henry counties all helped investigate the case.
West must also serve five years of supervised release after he serves his prison sentence.
RELATED: Major drug bust in Hancock County
