LMPD informant stole his weapons and committed a series of crimes

A convicted Louisville man was selected as an informant for the Louisville Metro Police to help arrest drug dealers. He stole weapons from police and embarked on a bizarre crime spree posing as a detective or federal agent.

John E. Lohden Jr., a felon prohibited from possessing a single firearm, stole three firearms – including a short-barreled rifle – from the Louisville Metro Police Department in a brazen series of crimes. For this brazen crime, he will soon be sent to a federal prison where he will not be eligible for parole.

Police had met Lohden, who taught martial arts at a gym on Dixie Highway. He was driving from Jefferson County to Bullitt County when he was stopped in a traffic stop. Officers told him his traffic violations could be dropped if he agreed to work as a police informant.

The 34-year-old got a lot of work and started working with the Bullitt County Narcotics Investigators. He started by making the Narcotics Investigators look good by solving several cases against drug dealers and providing information that helped police seize more than $600,000 in drug money. He also worked for the LMPD.

But he became too confident and greedy.

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Through a series of car break-ins targeting police officers, Lohden stole police weapons and a stun grenade, a diversionary device that police throw into suspects' homes during a raid to disorient them.

Lohden then joined forces with others and posed as investigators from various local and federal agencies in an attempt to defraud the area's drug dealers. Solving the crime spree required real investigators from local, state and federal agencies. The Federal Bureau of Investigation led the investigation and received assistance from the LMPD and sheriffs from Jefferson and Bullitt counties, as well as other federal agencies and the Kentucky State Police.

Lohden teamed up with two men on July 20, 2021, to kidnap and ransom a victim in Jefferson County while posing as deputy U.S. marshals and wearing the government agency's badge, according to a pretrial memo from prosecutors. A day later, an investigator spotted a stolen white Ford Explorer at a Baymont Inn in Bullitt County and conducted a traffic stop, finding Joshua Lohden – John's brother – as well as marijuana, a gun and a large amount of cash.

The Louisville police had no idea what the Lohden brothers and their friends were planning.

In January 2022, when police became concerned about a series of car break-ins that involved officers' weapons, they decided to hire John Lohden to conduct a series of gun buys to catch the perpetrators. Little did they know that Lohden was one of the main people responsible for the gun thefts.

In court documents, prosecutors wrote that Lohden “had already owned the firearms prior to purchase and acted as an informant for law enforcement under false pretenses.”

Criminal informants can expect a shorter prison sentence if they cooperate with the police – unless they commit new crimes.

On August 16, 2022, Lohden entered a home with Dayton Peterson, 23, and others, posing as an LMPD officer, a U.S. Marshal, and an agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The victim yelled at them to leave him alone because he was a Drug Enforcement Administration informant. They didn't care.

They stole several Rolex watches, money, several weapons and drugs, kidnapped the victim from his home and held him for ransom.

Lohden and his band of robbers headed to a jeweler near Churchill Downs to pawn the Rolex watches. However, the owner recognized the watches, including some custom-made ones that he had worked on himself and added diamonds to the dials. The owner called the police.

Two days after the incident, investigators spotted John Lohden in downtown Louisville. He tried to evade them by speeding away, but ended up hitting other cars. He jumped out with his little boy in his arms and tried to flee from police. Officers caught up with him. Police searched Lohden and his car and found the stun grenade, stolen jewelry, weapons, more than a kilogram of heroin and more than 12 kilograms of cocaine.

A day after Lohden's arrest, Peterson and his girlfriend used the proceeds from the robbery to buy a mobile home, which resulted in both of them being convicted of money laundering.

LMPD informant stole his weapons and committed a series of crimes

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