A 20-year-old Cincinnati man will spend the next decade behind bars after a Facebook Marketplace van purchase turned into a violent struggle with Indiana State Police troopers in Dearborn County last year. Gregory C. Lucas was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to attempted armed robbery under a negotiated plea deal.
The sentence closes out a case that began on September 17, 2025, when Lucas allegedly arranged to buy a van through Facebook Marketplace using a mix of cash, cocaine, and marijuana, according to Indiana State Police as reported by FOX19. Rather than complete a legitimate sale, Lucas had allegedly planned to rob the seller, who instead contacted troopers after agreeing to meet him. As reported by The 812, Lucas told investigators after his arrest that he'd agreed to hand over two ounces of cocaine and two firearms as payment for the van, despite showing up with neither drugs nor extra weapons.
A Sting Meant to Protect the Seller
The meetup was set for around 6:30 p.m. at an Amoco gas station in St. Leon, but the real seller never showed. Instead, two plainclothes Indiana State Police detectives were deployed to the gas station while the actual seller was advised to stay away, per the same account from The 812. Detectives reportedly watched Lucas pace the gas station lot dressed for winter — a black ski mask, jacket, and fleece — despite 90-degree heat before calling in uniformed troopers, according to WRBI Radio.
Sgt. Stephen Wheeles said the Facebook Marketplace offer to trade drugs for the van had raised concern among investigators before the meetup, per FOX19. When troopers approached Lucas, he showed them messages about the vehicle transaction, according to the outlet, and reportedly showed one message referencing marijuana in the process. Investigators later obtained a search warrant for his phone and recovered text messages referring to robbing two people — one that day and another on Saturday — without specifically identifying the van seller as an intended victim, the article notes.
A Violent Struggle Leaves Lasting Injuries
What followed was a physical confrontation that left two troopers injured. FOX19 reports that Lucas resisted physically and reportedly attempted to gouge one trooper's eye while biting him. Dearborn County Prosecutor Lynn Deddens disclosed that the trooper suffered a shoulder injury requiring orthopedic evaluation, internal mouth cuts, face scratches, a bite injury, and a facial wound that left a permanent scar, according to The 812's earlier reporting.
Before troopers moved in, prosecutors say Lucas had hidden an opened Swiss Army pocketknife behind the gas station building. Troopers also recovered a loaded Glock handgun from inside his jacket pocket, per the same account. Lucas was initially charged with attempted armed robbery, three counts of battery on a public safety official, and resisting law enforcement, though the additional charges were dismissed under the plea agreement that produced his conviction for attempted armed robbery.
How Indiana Law Frames the Sentence
Under Indiana Code § 35-42-5-1, robbery committed while armed with a deadly weapon or resulting in bodily injury is classified as a Level 3 felony, carrying a statutory sentencing range of 3 to 16 years with an advisory sentence of 9 years, according to the Law Office of Jerry L. Garner. Lucas's 10-year sentence is above both the nine-year advisory sentence and the 9.5-year mathematical midpoint of the statutory range, while remaining within the statutory ceiling.
The case was prosecuted by the Dearborn-Ohio County Prosecutor's Office under Prosecuting Attorney Lynn Deddens, which is Indiana's only prosecutorial agency with concurrent jurisdiction over two separate counties, per The 812. Indiana State Police conducted the undercover operation and subsequent investigation, according to Sgt. Stephen Wheeles.
Part of a Broader Pattern in Dearborn County
Lucas's case involved a social-media-arranged transaction that turned violent. Public safety agencies have repeatedly urged residents to conduct online marketplace sales in designated safe-exchange zones rather than isolated meeting spots like gas stations.
