Men indicted in Grube murders

Trevin Sanders Roark and Bryant L. Rhoades - the alleged shooters in the November 2011 murders of Fort Recovery-area residents Robert and Colleen Grube - were indicted Thursday by a local grand jury.

Both men face 27 counts, including aggravated murder, murder, involuntary manslaughter, kidnapping by virtue of restraining the victims' freedom, aggravated robbery, robbery, aggravated burglary, burglary and theft. The charges range from first-degree felonies to a first-degree misdemeanor, and all contain firearm specifications.

The charges are new for Rhoades but were contained in a complaint filed in Mercer County Juvenile Court against Sanders Roark as an alleged delinquent child.

The men were served with court paperwork late Friday morning at the Mercer County Detention Facility.      Sanders Roark, a 19-year-old Union City man, faces life imprisonment if convicted because he was 17 at the time of the crime. His initial appearance in Mercer County Common Pleas Court is 1 p.m. Monday.

It is not known whether the state will pursue the death penalty for 22-year-old Rhoades, also a Union City resident. His initial appearance is 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Rhoades has been incarcerated locally since late March when investigators charged him with obstructing justice in connection with the Grube case.

He allegedly provided false information to detectives June 4, 2012, about an unidentified woman involved in the murders. He claimed he met her at a mobile home in Fort Recovery. Further investigation purportedly determined the statements to be false.  

Detectives first talked with Sanders Roark on July 9, 2012. They were in Darke County when Union City, Ind., authorities contacted them with reports that someone had information regarding the Grube case.

Seven more interviews occurred between then and Dec. 12 in Randolph County, Ind., and/or at the Michigan State Prison in Michigan City, where Sanders Roark was serving time on an unrelated matter. The final interview occurred in March, when he requested a detective make the four-hour trip for additional information.

It was during that interview that he allegedly identified Rhoades as the second shooter. When asked about the other shooter, Sanders Roark reportedly replied "It is me."

He was brought to Mercer County and appeared several times in juvenile court before Judge Mary Pat Zitter, who ruled he should be tried as an adult.

Officials allege Sanders Roark and Rhoades, along with an unidentified man and woman they reportedly did not know, went to the Grubes' Burrville Road home Nov. 29, 2011. Someone in the group allegedly knew 70-year-old Robert Grube had prescription medication, and they planned to rob the home of the medicine, money, electronics and jewelry.

They reportedly smoked methamphetamine en route, parked in a nearby drive and approached the Grube home on the ruse of having car trouble. When 47-year-old Colleen Grube came to the door, officials allege the quartet forced their way inside. The victims were bound with duct tape and shot.

The investigation is continuing as authorities attempt to locate the unnamed man and woman also implicated in the crime. Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey said there have been some leads regarding the man but none regarding the whereabouts of the woman.

Anyone with information should contact the sheriff's office at 567-890-TIPS (8477).