Suffolk County district attorney calls for fentanyl dealers to be held accountable for overdose deaths
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney shares why he supports the 'Death by Dealer' law and why he wants to end bail reform legislation that puts drug dealers back on the street on 'Fox News Live.'
The Suffolk County, New York District Attorney announced a 197-count indictment charging 21 members and associates of the "9-Trey Bloods" street gang with mostly narcotics and weapons trafficking offenses.
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney made the announcement with Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr., and Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison on Monday, saying the 197-count indictment includes six conspiracies to distribute and possess narcotics and firearms, dating back to December 2021.
Members of Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney's Fentanyl Task force helped investigate members of the "9-Trey-Bloods," leading to a 197-count indictment against 21 members and associates of the street gang. (Fox News)
"In Suffolk County, we had over 350 young people die last year from fentanyl," Tierney said. "That is more young people from Suffolk County than those who died during all the years of Vietnam War put together. We can’t stand by and let this continue."
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In early 2022, members of the Suffolk County Fentanyl Task Force, East End Drug Task Force and Gang Violence Task Force, along with several other agencies and departments, kicked off an investigation into members and associates of the "9-Trey Bloods," who were moving drugs and firearms while committing violent acts in Suffolk County.
The investigation led to the execution of over 190 search warrants into homes, vehicles, cellphones and other digital sources. It also resulted in thousands of hours of surveillance and intelligence, ultimately revealing the scope of the narcotics and firearm operations.
Inside a courtroom with gavel in view. (iStock)
The investigation also resulted in a three-month grand jury presentation that charged 18 of the 21 defendants with six separate conspiracies related to narcotics and weapons trafficking and possession.
Twenty-one of the defendants were indicted on 63 separate criminal acts dating back to December 2021, including the possession of 12 illegal firearms, nine large capacity magazines, a gang-related shooting, the sale of fentanyl that led to a fatal overdose, several undercover narcotics transactions, and possession with intent to sell multiple controlled substances.
One of the incidents occurred on Nov. 13, 2022, when Justin Llewellyn allegedly sold Yasmin DeLeon, 25, and another individual fentanyl and crack cocaine at a hotel in Ronkonkoma, New York.
A view of a Suffolk County police vehicle. (Suffolk County Police Department)
The morning after the deal, DeLeon was unresponsive, and Llewellyn entered the room to administer Narcan before police arrived.
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Llewellyn was arrested on the scene and was allegedly in possession of fentanyl and other narcotics. A search of his car, Tierney said, resulted in drug paraphernalia like scales and an overdose kit containing unused Narcan.
He was charged with third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and second-degree conspiracy for conspiring to sell narcotics.
Joe Solomon, co-director of Charleston-based Solutions Oriented Addiction Response, holds a dose of the opioid overdose reversal drug Narcan at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Charleston in Charleston, W.Va., Sept. 6, 2022. He and other organizers were preparing for the third annual "Save a Life" day event on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022, where thousands of doses of Narcan were distributed throughout all of West Virginia's 55 counties. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham, File)
In another incident, between Dec. 15, 2022, and Jan. 3, 2023, Justin Wright, Robert Stone and Raiven Logan were allegedly involved in the sale of firearms, with Logan allegedly purchasing the firearms in Pennsylvania and selling them to Wright and Stone in New York.
Tierney said surveillance video from Manhattan captured Logan transferring a bag from her vehicle to the vehicle Wright and Stone were in.
Police conducted a traffic stop on Wright and Stone in Suffolk County and recovered two 9mm pistols, a .38-caliber revolver, two high-capacity magazines, and ammunition for each gun in the bag.
Logan, Tierney said, was charged with first-degree criminal sale of a firearm and Wright and Stone were charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
The day after Wright was arrested, police executed a search warrant at his Bay Shore, New York home and recovered three additional loaded handguns, two large capacity magazines, ammunition for all three guns, methamphetamine tablets and a small quantity of fentanyl. He was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and second-degree conspiracy for conspiring to sell narcotics.
Also charged in the indictment are Amina Atelek, 22, of Deer Park; Charles Cooper, 36, of Shirley; Dajuan Davis, 40, of Central Park; Kellie Gibbs, 39, of Huntington; Michael Grodner, 58, of Huntington; Henna Harris, 47, of Central Islip; Osvaldo Hernandez, 47, of the Bronx; Cynthia Hermann, 65, of Sayville; Michael Horn, 31, of Deer Park; Steven Hunt, 42, of Brentwood; Robert Jenkins, 62, of Bay Shore; Davon Lawrence, 31, of Huntington Station; Travis Lawrence, 35, of Ronkonkoma; Tyree Lawrence, 30, of Ronkonkoma; Terrence Lee, 33, of Riverhead; Richard Owns, 33, of Ronkonkoma; and George Rodriguez, 48, of Medford.
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According to Tierney, nine of the 21 defendants were arrested and arraigned before the Honorable Richard I. Horowitz.
Eleven of those who were indicted are charged offenses that are eligible for bail – eight of those defendants are in custody, one posted bond and one is at large.
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