New Castle business owner arrested on drug charges following raids on multiple properties

NEW CASTLE, Ind. — A New Castle business owner was arrested on multiple drug charges on Monday.

According to a post on the New Castle Police Department’s Facebook page , Kyle B. Huckeby was arrested for dealing in cocaine, dealing in a Schedule IV controlled substance and maintaining a common nuisance.

Per NCPD, Huckeby owns and operates LHH Properties, a company that oversees multiple properties in Henry County.

Police executed search warrants on LHH properties located in the 1800 block of Grand Avenue and the 600 block of South 18th Street. Law enforcement also conducted searches at two LHH properties located on A Avenue.

NCPD reported that officers seized 75 grams of cocaine, 32 firearms, drug paraphernalia and about $11,000 in U.S. currency during the searches. Police estimate the cocaine’s street value would likely exceed $7,000.

“I was very surprised that there were drugs in there,” said neighbor Royce Matthews. “I had no idea there was.”

Matthews lives across the street from the trucking business.  Although Matthews noticed people frequently coming and going from the property, which includes an adjacent sports complex, he didn’t suspect the activity was drug-related.

“There’s a gymnasium in the back of it, and he’s an athlete, and I figured people were coming and going and shooting basketball or some things like that,” said Mathews.

Before he was arrested on the drug dealing charges, the 47-year-old Huckeby was a basketball star in New Castle in the mid ’90s.

“It just seems like the times to me,” Matthews said. “Things are a lot worse then they used to be.”

Counting Huckeby, NCPD’s searches resulted in seven arrests. The other six people police arrested, however, face lower-level charges like possession of cocaine — a Level 6 Felony — and visiting a common nuisance — a Class B Misdemeanor.

The most serious of the charges Huckeby faces — dealing in cocaine — is a Level 2 Felony in Indiana. The maximum penalty for a Level 2 Felony in the Hoosier State is a 30-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $10,000.

Although police didn’t comment on the case, Matthews for one is relieved the illegal drugs have been taken off his street.

“I’m glad that police are keeping an eye on people and trying to keep the drugs out of town,” said Mathews.

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