INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis felon with a 20-year history of criminal conduct has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for his latest crime which involved fleeing from police while high on PCP and colliding with an innocent bystander’s vehicle at nearly 80 miles per hour.
Carl Young Jr., 41, pleaded guilty to cocaine and marijuana trafficking charges, possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and being a felon in possession of a firearm. After Young’s stint in federal prison is completed, he will be ordered to serve probation for three years.
Previous reports on Young revealed him to be a lifelong criminal with 20 criminal cases spanning over a period of 20 years in Marion County. From February 2021 to February 2022, when he was last arrested, Young racked up 10 felony counts in four separate cases.
Young’s 14-year sentence and his guilty plea stem from a Feb. 16, 2022, incident where Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers were dispatched to Thaddeus Street in response to a domestic disturbance.
Officers were told on scene that Young had stolen a woman’s Jeep and was in a nearby alley. Young fled when officers approached the Jeep and ended up running a stop sign at Minnesota and State streets where he collided at nearly 80 mph with a Buick.
Police reported the Buick was struck so hard that both driver and passenger were ejected. Both were critically injured and sent to a hospital.
After the collision, Young continued to try and flee police and even backed into a police vehicle. Officers were able to remove Young from the vehicle.
Young was reportedly wearing a GPS ankle monitor at the time of this incident and had been high on PCP. He also had a loaded shotgun in the Jeep and a backpack containing 26 grams of crack cocaine and six pounds of marijuana.
Young admitted in his plea that he had intended to sell the illegal drugs.
Young was forbidden from possessing a firearm due to being a convicted felon.
A previous report also revealed that Young had been issued a warrant for his arrest only hours before he fled from police in the Jeep.
“This armed drug trafficker severely injured two innocent people as he sped away from police with utter disregard for human life,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary Myers. “I commend the outstanding first responders who undoubtedly saved lives at the scene of the crash and protected the public by arresting a dangerous criminal. The serious sentence imposed today will protect the public from further crimes by Mr. Young, and demonstrates that our office will work closely with our local and federal partners to make our communities safer.”
