COPS - MAN, 69, SOLD POT FOR 25 YEARS

Westsider And Ex-Wife, 59, Held On Drug Charges; $1 Million In Cash,
Cars, Other Property Seized

At an age when many people retire, an Indianapolis duo was hard at
work selling hundreds of pounds of marijuana a week, State Police
said Thursday.

Investigators ended what they said was Clarence Deberry's 25-year
career in drug sales Thursday and seized more than $1 million in
classic cars, cash and other property. Troopers said Deberry, 69, and
his ex-wife Phoebe Deberry, 59, sold 26 pounds of marijuana to an
undercover police officer during a four-month investigation.

"This is certainly no way to supplement Social Security," said Marion
County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi.

The Deberrys lived together in a home in the 300 block of South
Lockburn Street on the city's Westside, said police, who said they
were among the biggest dealers in the state and spent much of their
profit on automobiles. Police seized more than 35 vehicles, including
a 1957 Chevrolet, a 1967 Corvette, a 1999 Plymouth Prowler, a 1929
Ford Model A and a 2003 Harley-Davidson V-Rod motorcycle. The couple
stored the vehicles in a warehouse on the Westside at Airport
Expressway and Holt Road, where many had a thick layer of dust.

Officers also seized more than 40 pounds of marijuana, which Indiana
State Police Maj. Larry Turner said was thought to have been smuggled
in from Mexico.

Police would not say how they came to suspect the two were selling drugs.

The Deberrys owned two homes and a vacant lot in Marion County,
police said. Last month, investigators said, the Deberrys paid
$274,900 in cash for a third home on eight acres in the 9500 block of
Cooney Road, Mooresville.

Indiana law lets authorities seize assets purchased with the proceeds
of criminal activities. State Police 1st Sgt. Dave Bursten said most
of the vehicles likely would be auctioned, with proceeds distributed
among various law enforcement agencies.

Clarence Deberry bragged to an undercover officer about the cash he'd
earned selling pot, according to documents filed Thursday in Marion
Superior Court. In March, Deberry told the officer he had several
customers who bought 25 to 30 pounds of pot a week and that he
supplied one costumer with 250 pounds of the drug each week.

"We're always grateful for criminals who like to talk," Brizzi said.

Clarence Deberry has not filed an income tax return for 10 years,
according to court records.

More arrests may follow as investigators sort through evidence and
follow other leads, but police and prosecutors were confident the
Deberrys sat at the top of this supply chain. Clarence Deberry was
charged Thursday with dealing marijuana and other crimes in Marion,
Hancock and Morgan counties. He is being held in the Morgan County
Jail. Phoebe Deberry faces a single felony drug charge in Marion
County and is being held in the Marion County Jail. Both have bonds
set at $1 million.

Morgan County Prosecutor Steve Sonnega bemoaned the fact that the
most serious charge prosecutors can file, dealing marijuana, carries
a maximum penalty of eight years in prison. "That's the law in
Indiana," Sonnega said. "We are basically filing the most serious
charges we can."

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Items seized from Clarence Deberry and Phoebe Deberryon Thursday include:

1999 Plymouth Prowler.

Five Chevrolet Corvettes.

1974 Dodge tow truck.

1966 Plymouth Satellite.

1957 Chevrolet.