Russell Defreitas, of Holbrook, sentenced to 53 years for drug trafficking that caused 2 OD deaths, prosecutors say

A Suffolk judge sentenced a Holbrook man convicted of operating as a major drug trafficker to 53 years in state prison Tuesday, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office said.

Russell Defreitas, 55, who represented himself at trial before acting Supreme Court Justice Anthony Senft, was convicted of 92 counts for his role in what prosecutors described as a large-scale cocaine and fentanyl trafficking operation that caused two overdose deaths, prosecutors said in a news release.

"This defendant’s actions directly led to two overdose fatalities, yet our current laws don’t allow us to charge these preventable deaths as the homicides that they are," Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a statement urging Albany lawmakers to pass a bill that would allow for a person who sells a drug that causes an overdose death to be charged with manslaughter.

Prosecutors have said a man and woman overdosed on fentanyl in a Holbrook hotel room rented by Defreitas, also known as "Merc," on March 9, 2023. The woman overdosed first and Defreitas prevented associates of his from immediately calling 911, prosecutors said.

By the time an emergency call was made, after Defreitas cleared the room of drugs and went to eat at a nearby Wendy’s fast-food restaurant, the man had also overdosed, according to a news release.

Search warrants executed at the hotel and Defreitas’ car and home led to the discovery of cocaine, fentanyl, loaded guns, drug packaging materials, scales and numerous hotel room key cards, prosecutors said.

An East End Drug Task Force investigation into Defreitas had begun six months earlier, in September 2022, following an earlier overdose death, prosecutors previously said. He was indicted in May 2023.

While most of the felonies the jury found Defreitas guilty of involved the sale or possession of controlled substances, he was also convicted of weapons possession charges and perjury for lying to a grand jury while testifying on his own behalf, prosecutors said.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Jacob Kubetz and Raquel Tisi, according to a news release.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.