Sold Pills to Undercover Officer That Were Actually Fentanyl
A Deer Park man was sentenced to 16 years in prison for selling drugs.
Anthony Alexander, 57, was caught selling fentanyl-laced pills to an undercover police officer.
In January 2022, The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Fentanyl Task Force — a group composed of members from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office, The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department and the Suffolk County Police Department — began an investigation into Alexander’s narcotics dealings. A member of the task force had contacted Alexander and arranged to purchase oxycodone pills from him. Two deals had occurred at the Babylon train station, one being on January 13 and another on January 18. Testing revealed that the pills the officer purchased were not oxycodone, but fentanyl. Alexander was arrested at the train station on January 20, where he was found to be in possession of metal knuckles and a variety of pills, including oxycodone, alprazolam, and suboxone.
On March 30, Alexander was convicted of several charges by Supreme Court Judge Steven A. Pelewski. The charges include three counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, two counts of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, and two counts of fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. On June 1, Alexander was sentenced to 16 years in prison with three-year post release supervision.
“Even though we only managed to take one drug dealer off the street during this trial, in doing so, we may have just saved countless lives,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said. “That is just how dangerous fentanyl is. Thanks goes out to our Fentanyl Task Force and the hard work they put forth into this investigation. As District Attorney of Suffolk County, I will continue my push to strengthen the penalties surrounding fentanyl laws, as well as the creation of a death by dealer statute in our state.”