Beech Grove coach Mike Renfro arrested on drug charges just months after state title win

Update, Dec. 2: Former Beech Grove basketball coach and teacher pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle while intoxicated on Dec. 1, 2022, after an arrest in Henry County in August, court records show.  Mike Renfro, who resigned from the high school, received a one-year suspended sentence with one year of probation, which means he will not serve jail time.

He was also ordered to undergo a substance abuse evaluation and received a 180-day license suspension. As part of a plea agreement, charges of possession of cocaine, dealing in cocaine, and public intoxication were dropped. Read more here.

Original story, Aug. 11: State championship-winning Beech Grove basketball coach Mike Renfro is suspended from his teaching and coaching positions “pending further investigation” following his arrest Sunday in Henry County.

Renfro, 45, faces two felony charges — one for dealing cocaine between one and five grams and another for possession of cocaine. He also faces misdemeanor charges for operating a vehicle while intoxicated and public intoxication. Renfro was released on bond Tuesday and his initial hearing is set for Aug. 30 in New Castle.

Beech Grove superintendent Laura Hammack issued a statement directed to Beech Grove families and staff Wednesday night and released the same statement to IndyStar Thursday morning, writing she is “deeply troubled by these allegations.”

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“I am writing with some very troubling news,” Hammack wrote. “Earlier (Wednesday) evening, I was informed that a Beech Grove High School teacher and coach, Mr. Mike Renfro, was arrested by the Henry County Sheriff’s Department on numerous charges, including possession and dealing drugs.

“Like you, I am deeply troubled by these allegations. Mr. Renfro has been suspended pending further investigation. The district intends to fully cooperate with law enforcement officers as they conduct their investigation. Because this is an ongoing investigation, there is little else we can share now. However, we know that when events like this happen, the entire school and district are impacted. We want to ensure that you have the appropriate support during this difficult time. School officials and district counselors will be available to answer students’ questions during the next several days.”

Renfro, a former star basketball player at Beech Grove who went on to play at Hofstra under Jay Wright, led Beech Grove to a Class 3A state title last season. It was a scene seemingly made for Hollywood after Renfro, a former assistant under Matt English, took over the program in 2018 when English died after a battle with brain cancer.

Renfro led the Hornets to sectional titles in his first three seasons before breaking through last year and leading Beech Grove to its first state championship in program history. Renfro was named the Marion County coach of the year.

State champsThis Beech Grove script is the type Hollywood rejects because it's not believable. Believe it.

“The vision was the same for (English) and I,” Renfro said after the state championship game. “We’re kind of the same men, you know. We’re tough-nosed, hard-nosed, blue-collar guys. That’s what I try to instill in my team. They are a blue-collar team that just won a state championship.”

According to the affidavit for probable cause filed in Henry County Circuit Court, Renfro’s vehicle was traveling 45 miles per hour eastbound on I-70 late Sunday night near New Castle. “Upon making contact with the driver, Michael Renfro Jr., I could smell the odor commonly associated with alcohol because of my experience as a law enforcement officer,” deputy Gregg Yuknavage wrote on his report.

When asked if he had consumed alcohol, Renfro “started to cry and admitted to having a couple drinks,” the report said. After he consented to a field sobriety test, Renfro leaned against the rear of his vehicle “and started crying and told Deputy (Nathaniel) Lockwood and myself that he is a basketball coach and gym teacher at Beech Grove High School and asked me not to post this in the news.”

According to the affidavit, Renfro refused to complete the field sobriety test saying, “a sober person couldn’t even do it.” He submitted a preliminary breath test, which registered a .240 blood alcohol content. Yuknavage reported that as he placed Renfro under arrest, Lockwood searched the immediate area of Renfro’s vehicle and discovered a folded dollar bill on the driver floorboard.

“Because of Deputy Lockwood’s training and experience as a law enforcement officer, he knew that dollar bills are a common way to conceal illegal narcotics,” Yuknavage wrote in the affidavit. “Deputy Lockwood then unfolded the dollar bill and found a white powdery substance in the center. Deputy Lockwood then walked over and asked Mr. Renfro Jr. what the substance was. Mr. Renfro Jr. hesitated then said, ‘either cocaine or meth.’”

Multiple small baggies of a white substance along with multiple dollar bills were found under the driver’s floor mat, according to the affidavit. The total presumed cocaine weighed 1.86 grams. “It is a reasonable assumption to believe that since Mr. Renfro Jr had seven separate and individually wrapped dollar bills and baggies containing cocaine and was traveling with these items on the interstate, Mr. Renfro had the intent to deliver cocaine to another person or persons,” the affidavit read.

Hammack said in her statement that Renfro “passed all criminal and other background checks during the hiring process.”

“Some in our community may understandably question the district’s hiring practices and how something like this could happen,” Hammack wrote. “Please know that the individual in question passed all criminal and other background checks required during the hiring process. However, as a district, we will review our human resources practices and address any potential areas of concern.

“While we will share more details regarding this investigation when we can do so, our focus now will continue to be on our students and their physical and social-emotional wellbeing.”

Dealing cocaine or a narcotic drug is a level 4 felony and possession of cocaine or a narcotic drug is a level 6 felony.

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Beech Grove basketball coach Mike Renfro arrested on drug charges