INDIANAPOLIS -- Prosecutors have dropped four murder charges against the alleged ring leader of the "Grundy Crew" after a key witness was found to have lied to police about her identity.
Richard Grundy III was charged in September with four counts of murder and conspiracy to commit murder in connection with two double murders. Prosecutors allege he hired another man, John Means, 23, to commit the murders. Means allegedly received $12,000 to kill two of the victims.
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"The successful prosecution on those charges relied in great part on a witness's statements. Once she was excluded as a witness, we were unable to move forward with the case. Richard Grundy III remains in custody on an unrelated pending case," a statement from the Marion County Prosecutor's Office said.
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That witness, who is named Keynae Berry, had told police her name was Porche Harris. According to probable cause documents, in July she identified herself as Porche Harris when giving a statement about a homicide investigation.
In September, she signed a Department of Justice form to receive cash because she was a relocated witness. She received $1,000 from the Department of Justice in cash to help cover living expenses.
During the course of the investigation, she provided the investigators with three addresses where she would be staying in Georgia. In March, investigators determined two of the addresses did not exist.
From September 2015 to February 16, she received a total of $6,098 from the United States Department of Justice.
In March, while serving a body-attachment order for Harris, a lieutenant with the Marion County Sheriff's Office noticed a driver's license for someone named Porche Harris, however the picture was for another woman, and was not the woman who had been identifying herself as Porche Harris during the homicide investigation.
A prepaid card was also next to the Harris driver's license and was issued in the name of Keynae Berry.
In April, the actual Porche Harris was found and said that her license had been lost or stolen some time ago.
Berry faces charges of identity deception, counterfeiting, and theft.
Grundy remains behind bars on a slew of other charges.
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