Police: Probe links Word to multiple accused drug dealers; say bar scene contributed to violence

EVANSVILLE — Dozens of pages of police records portray Evansville school board member Amy Word as an associate of accused drug dealers and one alleged "main supplier," all of whom police say used and sold drugs – including fentanyl-laced cocaine − from her restaurant with her knowledge.

"(Five confidential informants) all state that Ms. Word knows about the distribution and use of controlled substances within the (Lamasco Bar & Grill) and parking lot and also partakes in those activities on a regular basis," an affidavit of probable cause filed in Vanderburgh County Superior Court states.

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Word, the owner and manager of Lamasco and Amy's on Franklin, has pleaded not guilty to one count of “maintaining a common nuisance – controlled substances,” a Level 6 felony. Prosecutors have not charged Word with any offense related to the possession of controlled substances.

Detectives say their months-long investigation found that drug and alcohol use at Franklin Street establishments were contributing factors in multiple shootings, including one that occurred in the Lamasco parking lot in 2021.

Publicly, Word has sought to distance herself and Lamasco from the drug use and dealing that police allege they observed there regularly over a period of months.

“Other than ONE Lamasco employee, who was arrested for possession, NONE of the 22 people involved with the broader investigation were or ever have been employees of Lamasco Bar and Grill,” Word wrote in a Facebook post following her arrest.

Things have changed since that initial post, which was removed from Word's Facebook page later in the week.

The Courier & Press sent Word's attorney a message seeking comment for this article.

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To date, at least four current and former Lamasco employees – including Word – have been arrested as a result of the probe, including two who face dealing charges. Detectives say they conducted controlled buys from inside and outside the bar. Sportsman's Grille & Billiards and Franklin Street Tavern are also mentioned in police records as being targets of the investigation.

Police arrested 39-year-old Christopher Palmer, a former Lamasco employee, Wednesday night. He has since been charged with dealing a controlled substance, in addition to other charges. According to a police affidavit, Palmer told detectives he eventually quit working at Lamasco due to the high level of drug use there.

Police have also arrested 33-year-old Bryan Scott Biggs, who claimed he delivers cocaine to Lamasco Bar & Grill, where he also worked. Biggs reportedly told police he acts as a “middle man,” buying a “1/2 to 1 gram for $50-$100 at a time and delivers it to people while he is working at Lamasco,” an affidavit states.

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According to jail logs, court records and sworn affidavits, detectives cultivated at least five confidential sources over a span of months who reportedly collected information about drug activity at Lamasco and other Franklin Street bars.

Police say cell phone records and other information shows Word communicating with the man accused of being the “main supplier” of drugs at Lamasco: 35-year-old Demario Holman. He has been charged with dealing cocaine, dealing fentanyl, dealing marijuana and neglect of a dependent. He has pleaded not guilty.

Detectives allegedly recovered more than a pound of cocaine that also tested positive for fentanyl from Holman’s home and vehicle, as well as four handguns, a semi-automatic rifle, oxycodone pills, methamphetamine pills, and other drugs.

The Evansville Vanderburgh County Drug Task Force wrote in a sworn affidavit that detectives also "developed information" that Word and Holman communicate "in person or via an encrypted phone application."

One informant allegedly told detectives they were invited to a party at Word's home attended by Holman and another man confidential sources named as one of "the main five people distributing cocaine at Lamasco and Sportsman's," according to a sworn affidavit. The informant told police when they arrived at the party, Word, Holman and that man "were already inside and using cocaine."

The sworn affidavit filed against Word also cites multiple confidential sources who told police Word's behavior had grown increasingly "short tempered, aggressive, and careless, causing many employees to save the photographs and videos that showed her erratic behavior and using cocaine in case she turned her anger on them."

Two confidential informants told police one of the videos shows the school board member "with her face in a pile of cocaine in the upstairs apartment of Lamasco Bar," according to the affidavit.

Police interested in Lamasco since at least 2019

Police records stemming from nine separate criminal cases paint a picture of why authorities claim the school board member had knowledge of the sale and use of drugs and contributed to violence on Franklin Street.

Detectives said they received tips that an unnamed Lamasco employee "frequently sold heroin, marijuana, cocaine and pills at both Sportsman's Grille & Billiards and Lamasco Bar & Grill," since at least 2019, a probable cause affidavit states. In late 2021, police seized more than 30 grams of cocaine from an individual who allegedly told detectives "he bought it from a male just outside of the back door of Lamasco."

A 2021 shooting also put the establishment on police radar.

In August of that year, police arrested Erik Washington and accused him of shooting a man in the Lamasco parking lot. He was sentenced to serve five years in prison in connection with the shooting. A separate affidavit of probable cause lists Washington as one of five main cocaine distributors at Lamasco and Sportsman's.

Another person listed in police records as a dealer who frequented Lamasco is Jourdan Dabbs, who was arrested on Evansville's West Side in March and charged with dealing cocaine and marijuana.

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Detectives allegedly seized 19 grams of cocaine from Dabbs that "credible and reliable sources" confirmed was purchased from Holman, who eventually became the focus of the investigation on Franklin Street, according to police.

In the case against Word, detectives mention listening to a jail phone call that was allegedly between Dabbs and the school board member that occurred following his March arrest.

"Dabbs mentions he knew about a safe and told Ms. Word to get rid of whatever is in the safe," a sworn affidavit states. "Ms. Word becomes angry and starts yelling and swearing and made the statement that the only thing in the safe was her money and someone's 'dope.'"

Previously, Word denied that the safe referenced in a police affidavit was located on Lamasco property. Her public statement about the arrest appeared to have been deleted from her public Facebook profile as of Friday.

Word has agreed to take a leave of absence from the Evansville school board, but Evansville Vanderburgh School Board president Chris Kiefer said she did not accept his request for her to resign, citing advice from her legal counsel.

Lamasco Bar & Grill has been under Word's ownership since 2009, according to the Indiana Secretary of State's office. In 2019, she opened Amy's on Franklin, 1418 W. Franklin St., a higher-end bar and restaurant.

Word was elected to the EVSC School Board in 2020, winning one of the two seats for District 3 by nearly 5,000 votes. Kiefer said the school board will consider her request to take a leave of absence at its next meeting on Monday.

Word was released from the Vanderburgh County jail on a $500 bond shortly after her arrest. At her initial court appearance Wednesday, Vanderburgh County Superior Court Judge Wayne Trockman instructed Word to immediately report to the probation office to begin a monitoring program.

Staff writer Thomas B. Langhorne contributed to this report.

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This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Police: Probe links Word to multiple accused drug dealers