INDIANAPOLIS – Dujuan Lucas, 22, of Indianapolis, was sentenced to 231 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to two robberies and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of both crimes of violence.
Victim 1 texted Lucas when she arrived at the location. The vehicle was not present when Victim 1 arrived. Lucas told Victim 1 that his child’s mother had the vehicle, and that Victim 1 would have to wait. Lucas then pointed a pistol at Victim 1’s head, demanded money and told Victim 1 not to resist. Lucas removed $1,000 in U.S. currency from Victim 1’s person and ran off. The police were contacted, and they soon arrived at the scene to investigate the robbery. Through investigation, officers determined that it was Lucas who placed the advertisement on OfferUp and robbed Victim 1 and her three children at gunpoint.
On August 23, 2020, Victim 5 communicated over Facebook Marketplace with Lucas who had listed an iPhone 11 and several other electronics for sale through the website. Victim 5 arranged to meet Lucas, who was portraying himself as a female, at another address on Redskin Lane. Lucas explained to Victim 5 that it would be her “brother” that would be meeting Victim 5. Later that day, Victim 5 and four friends, Victims 6-9, arrived at the Redskin Lane address and messaged Lucas over Facebook that they had arrived.
Lucas approached Victim 5’s vehicle and Victim 5 exited the vehicle to meet Lucas. Lucas asked to see the money first. The victims showed Lucas the money and Lucas handed a box to Victim 5. While Victim 5 was looking at the box, Lucas grabbed Victim 5 from behind, held a gun against Victim 5’s neck, and demanded cash from the group. Victim 5 gave Lucas money. Lucas ordered Victim 6 to exit the vehicle and demanded all the victims’ cell phones. Victims 6 and 7 gave Lucas their cell phones. All the victims were eventually able to return to their vehicle while Lucas was distracted, and they fled the scene with Lucas running behind them for a short time. The police were called to respond to the robbery. Lucas was identified by police as the perpetrator of this armed robbery also. Lucas was found at a residence on Redskin Lane on September 8, 2020 and was subsequently arrested.
A search warrant was executed at Lucas’s residence. Police recovered a 9mm semiautomatic handgun, two handgun magazines and other items used during the robberies. Lucas admitted that the handgun and magazines belonged to him.
In 2016, Lucas was convicted of armed robbery as a juvenile in Marion County, Indiana. Lucas was out on bond awaiting trial for narcotics charges in Marion County at the time he committed the two marketplace robberies.
Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, and Herbert J. Stapleton, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Indianapolis Field Office, made the announcement.
The FBI investigated the case. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department provided valuable assistance. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Chief Judge Tanya Walton Pratt. As part of the sentence, Judge Pratt ordered that Lucas be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for three years following his release from federal prison.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lawrence D. Hilton and Kathryn E. Olivier who prosecuted this case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.