Police: Parents charged after guns, drugs and cash found in Evansville home

Houston Harwood, Evansville Courier & Press
·2 min read

EVANSVILLE — Two Evansville parents are now in custody, accused of illegally purchasing a firearm and keeping narcotics, including fentanyl, within reach of their three children.

Prosecutors have preliminarily charged Brandon Artis, 34, and Schreka Simpson, 33, with six counts, including neglect of a dependent, a Level 6 felony, controlled substance dealing, a Level 5 felony, and straw-purchasing a handgun, a Level 5 felony.

Artis was arrested Sept. 7, while Simpson was booked into the Vanderburgh County jail Tuesday night.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, Evansville Police Department detectives saw Simpson inside the Morgan Avenue Rural King on Aug. 31 shopping for "AK-style" and "left-handed firearms."

Artis, who was on parole and classified as a serious violent felon, waited in the Rural King parking lot, police said.

A day later, Simpson reportedly returned to the Rural King and purchased a 9mm Kalashnikov-style firearm on layaway. Simpson submitted her personal address on the required background check form, according to the affidavit, but police believed the weapon was intended for Artis.

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On Sept. 6, police say they observed the couple leaving Rural King and entering Artis' residence with the firearm, which is classified as a pistol due to lack of a stock.

A search of Artis' home was then conducted, where detectives say they recovered more than 5,000 grams of marijuana, 16 grams of a white substance that field tested positive for cocaine and fentanyl, and $12,488 in cash.

"Many of the narcotics located inside the home would have been accessible to Artis and Simpson's children while they were left unsupervised inside the home," detectives wrote in the affidavit.

Police also recovered a .22-caliber semi-automatic rifle in addition to the weapon Simpson allegedly purchased from Rural King.

Simpson and Artis were scheduled to make their first appearance in Vanderburgh Superior Court on Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Houston Harwood can be contacted at walter.harwood@courierpress.com with story ideas and questions. Twitter: @houston_whh

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Police arrest Evansville parents, accused of neglect, drug, gun charges