NEW YORK (1010 WINS) - - Two men have been charged in an indictment for distributing drugs including Fentanyl and cocaine that led to the death of four people in August 2021, on the East End of Long Island, federal officials said.
A seven-count indictment unsealed on Thursday revealed that the two Riverhead residents, Marquis Douglas, 36, and Jesse Pace, 38, were charged with conspiring to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and crack cocaine.
“The defendants’ drug sales caused four overdose deaths in a single day last summer, contributing to the tragic history of the opioid epidemic that has claimed too many lives on Long Island,” US Attorney Breon Peace stated.
In the summer of 2021, Douglas and Pace distributed cocaine laced with a fentanyl analogue in Greenport, New York. When the drugs were re-distributed on the street level, it caused four overdoses on August 13, 2021, and the bodies were found the following day.
Douglas and Pace allegedly engaged in a years-long conspiracy to distribute over five kilograms of cocaine, one kilogram of heroin, 280 grams of crack cocaine, 40 grams of fentanyl, and a quantity of a fentanyl analogue according to the indictment.
“It is our hope that the federal prosecution of Douglas and Pace will bring some solace to the families of the four victims who died as a result of the defendants’ actions,” Peace stated.
Pace was arrested Thursday morning and will be arraigned later in the day. Douglas, already in federal custody, will be arraigned at a future date.
“These defendants, while in federal custody, will no longer be able to sell fentanyl and other dangerous drugs to unwitting customers and pose a danger to the community,” Raymond A. Tierney, Suffolk County District Attorney, said.
Douglas was also found in possession of distribution quantities of cocaine and fentanyl in May 2022 and is in Suffolk County.
Douglas and Pace face life in prison if they are convicted.
Related
Related
Related
