WINCHESTER, Ind. — A quarter-century after he was involved in a drug-related homicide, a Delaware County man faces new drug and firearm-related charges in Randolph County.
Robert L. Brumett Jr., 54, of Eaton, was charged in recent days in Randolph Superior Court with dealing in meth, possession of meth and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon.
According to an affidavit, Randolph County sheriff's deputies on June 1 found a loaded 9 mm handgun — and approximately 300 grams of meth — in a mobile home, along Randolph County Road 900 North that a friend was allowing Brumett to stay at.
Because of his convictions — in Jay Circuit Court in 2000 — for murder and dealing in cocaine, Brumett is prohibited from possessing firearms.
Brumett, who reportedly acknowledged he had been drinking whiskey, had placed a call to Randolph County emergency dispatchers, saying he was being held hostage.
When deputies arrived, Brumett told them he had exchanged gunshots with a group of more than 20 men who tried to gain access to the mobile home.
However, investigators found no evidence an attempted home invasion had taken place, or that gunfire had come from any weapon other than the handgun found on a couch where Brumett had been sleeping.
Bullet holes were found in the walls of the house trailer.
Brumett was taken to the Randolph County Jail in Winchester. The dealing charge against him is a Level 2 felony carrying up to 30 years in prison, while the possession count is a Level 3 felony with a maximum 16-year sentence.
The firearm charge is a Level 4 felony carrying up to 12 years in prison.
According to the affidavit, the Eaton man was also being held on a hold requested by the Indiana Department of Correction alleging parole violations.
Brumett was apparently recently released from a state prison.
In July 2000, he had been sentenced to 55 years after pleading guilty to murder and dealing in cocaine or a narcotic drug in Jay Circuit Court.
Prosecutors said Brumett and a co-defendant, Timothy McAbee, in July 1999 lured an acquaintance of Brumett, 21-year-old Tony R. Thompson, from Kentucky to East Central Indiana so they could rob and kill him. The victim's body was found in rural Jay County.
Testimony indicated Brumett and the Kentucky man had previously engaged in drug transactions.
Brumett was a prosecution witness at McAbee's May 2000 trial, telling jurors his co-defendant had fired the fatal gunshot.
McAbee was convicted of murder and robbery, and was later sentenced to 85 years in prison by then-Judge Tom Diller.
McAbee, now 53, is incarcerated at the New Castle Correctional Facility. According to a state Department of Correction website, his projected release date is in August 2041.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
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