32-year-old Allen Roach Jr. has been indicted for second-degree murder following a Drug Related Death Task Force investigation into a 2025 death.

In February 2025, KPD officers and detectives responded to the Tru Hotel on Lovell Road to investigate the suspicious death of a 23-year-old woman from Madisonville, Tenn. It was later determined that the woman died due to cocaine toxicity.  

Investigation led by the Drug Related Death Task Force identified Roach Jr. as the cocaine source. In April 2025, a search warrant was conducted at Roach Jr.’s Cedarwood Avenue residence, which resulted in the discovery of cocaine, mushrooms, a handgun, scales and other packaging materials. Roach Jr. was arrested that day for multiple drug offenses, possession of a firearm during a dangerous felony and maintaining a dwelling for drug use.

Following continued investigation into the woman’s death, in August 2026 the case was presented to a Knox County Grand Jury, which returned an indictment for second-degree murder and sale and delivery of cocaine. Roach Jr. was booked into the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility on those charges on September 21 and has since been released on a $150,000 bond.