Indy man accused of running 'large scale' meth operation
In Detroit, it was the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.
In St. Louis, a group of unknown drug dealers from Mexico.
In Atlanta, "Chico."
No matter who the source of the countless pounds of methamphetamine was, court documents reveal it all made its way to one place: Indianapolis.
And Thomas Rexroat, 33, is the man accused of bringing it here.
Rexroat, court documents said, has operated a "large scale methamphetamine distribution network" in Indianapolis since May 2015. That September, an Indianapolis FBI gang task force uncovered Rexroat's operation and began using confidential informants to build a case against him and his associates.
Investigators learned Rexroat would travel to Detroit, St. Louis and Atlanta with his crew and pick up between 10 and 20 pounds of methamphetamine per trip, the documents said. The drugs were hidden inside various vehicles — usually under the hood, behind head and taillights or sewn into the seats — and members of his crew would pick up the cars and drive them back to Indianapolis.
On March 2, Rexroat was picked up during a "routine traffic stop" and charged with felon carrying a firearm and possession of methamphetamine. While he was locked up in the Marion County Jail, his associate, Carl Smith, continued to run the criminal enterprise, handling all the "dirty work," which included, unbeknownst to Smith, selling meth to FBI informants, according to investigators.
By March 9, Rexroat had made the 10 percent payment on his $160,000 bond and was back on the street under surveillance by the FBI.
Over the next few months, court documents said, the informant continued to buy more and more methamphetamine. In July, the informant tried to purchase five pounds of the drug. Rexroat agreed to sell him the meth for $40,000, but the next day, when the deal was supposed to go down, the informant came up empty handed.
Angry, Rexroat told the informant to follow him and "Chico," in town from Atlanta, to the Quality Inn in the 4500 block of South Harding Street, court documents said.
When all three of them were inside the hotel room, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department SWAT officers served a "no-knock" search warrant, filling the room with smoke. Broken pieces of glass littered the floor, court documents said, as Rexroat and "Chico," whose real name is Michael Blakey, were taken into custody.
After searching the hotel room and Rexroat's home, police recovered 10 pounds of meth, seven handguns, one shotgun, five vehicles and more than $23,000 in cash.
Rexroat previously was convicted of possession of a controlled substance in 2003, felony intimidation in 2009 and felony theft in 2011, according to court documents.
Blakey was convicted in the State of Georgia in 2000 for theft by receiving stolen property.
Both men are being held in the Marion County Jail, Rexroat on a $200,000 bond and Blakey on a $100,000 bond.
Jury trials have been set for both men on Dec. 12, 2016, in court 20.
IndyStar reporter Sara Salinas contributed.
Call IndyStar reporter Michael Anthony Adams at (317) 444-6123. Follow him on Twitter: @michaeladams317.