COCAINE DEALER AWAITS SENTENCING AFTER JURY RETURNS GUILTY VERDICT AT TRIAL

VANDERBURGH COUNTY, Ind. — Prosecutor Diana Moers announces that on Tuesday, March 10, a jury found Aaron Woodrow Funkhouser guilty of Dealing in a Narcotic Drug as a Level 3 Felony.

In April 2022, the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Drug Task Force identified Funkhouser as one of five main subjects who would regularly distribute cocaine at Lamasco’s Bar & Grill and Sportsman’s Grille & Billiards in Evansville.

Over the course of several months, authorities observed Funkhouser meeting with individuals for short periods of time in his vehicle and ingesting substances in the parking lots at both Lamasco’s and Sportsman’s. EVCDTF also observed Funkhouser meet with several of the other five main subjects regularly involved in the distribution of cocaine at those locations, including Demario Holman.

On the evening of July 29, 2022, investigators watched Funkhouser meet Holman and saw the two make an exchange. After the exchange, they saw Funkhouser walk to his vehicle and lean in for an extended period, as if to conceal something inside.

Just before 1 a.m. on July 30, investigators watched Funkhouser leave Lamasco’s, before later pulling him over for speeding.

After a K9 alerted to the presence of drugs in the vehicle, a search revealed some marijuana wrapped in a bandana, and about 8 grams of cocaine under the passenger seat.

At Funkhouser’s trial, an array of evidence was presented to the jury such as detective testimony, body camera footage, text message records, and a recorded phone conversation.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys Erik Bryant and Jordan Williams tried the case, and the Honorable Judge Ryan D. Hatfield of the Vanderburgh County Circuit Court presided. Other staff members within the Prosecutor’s Office who substantially assisted include Jessica Purdue, Tony Cardin, Morgan Richardville, Jen Savage, and Kelcy Davis.

Funkhouser is set to be sentenced on March 20. He faces a minimum sentence of 3 years in prison, and a maximum sentence of 16 years in prison.