Feds: 2 indicted on drug charges in East End overdose deaths
Fentanyl recovered after a drugs seizure on Long Island in 2017. Credit: Howard Schnapp
Two Riverhead men have been indicted on federal narcotics distribution charges in connection with the overdose deaths of four people in the East End last summer, federal authorities said Thursday.
Marquis Douglas, 36, who is also known as “Prince” and “President,” and Jesse Pace, 38, who is also known as “Jah,” were charged in a seven-count indictment unsealed Thursday in federal court in Central Islip with the distribution of controlled substances resulting in the fatal overdoses of four people on Aug. 13, 2021, authorities said.
Douglas and Pace were also indicted on charges of conspiring to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and crack cocaine, and Douglas was indicted on charges of possession of fentanyl and cocaine in Suffolk County in May 2022, authorities said.
The spate of fatal overdoses — authorities have said that a total of six people died in an eight-day span last summer on the North Fork and on Shelter Island — rattled the small communities. Long Island has been an epicenter of opioid abuse in recent years, with hundreds of people dying in Nassau and Suffolk counties annually.
Pace pleaded not guilty to the charges during his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven L. Tiscione Thursday afternoon. Tiscione ordered him held without bail and set a July 20 court date to discuss discovery and plea negotiations.
Pace's attorney William Wexler said Pace had a criminal record but did not know any prior convictions or previous drug charges. He said he was still reviewing the evidence by federal prosecutors.
"My client maintains his innocence and we will investigate thoroughly to prove his innocence," Wexler said.
Douglas, who authorities said is in federal custody on related charges, will be arraigned at a later date. John Wallenstein, the attorney for Douglas, declined to comment when reached by phone.
“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,” Breon Peace, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. “Dealing deadly drugs in this district will be met with severe consequences. At the same time, we are working to reduce the availability of these drugs and prevent new addictions in our efforts to save lives. 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.”
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, whose office is currently prosecuting two other men in connection with some of the fatal overdoses, said in a statement Thursday: "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.”
Federal authorities said Douglas and Pace’s alleged distribution of cocaine and a fentanyl analog, fluorofentanyl, led to the overdose deaths. 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 analog, authorities said.
According to the indictment, in August 2021, Douglas and Pace distributed cocaine laced with a fentanyl analog in Greenport. When the drugs were sold at the street level, it caused four fatal overdoses on Aug. 13, 2021. At the time, police identified the victims as a 30-year-old man from Southold, a 27-year-old man from Greenport Village, a 32-year-old man from East Marion and a 40-year-old man from Shelter Island.
Days later, then-Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini announced charges against two other men — alleged to be a street level dealer and his supplier — in connection with the Aug. 13, 2021 overdose deaths of Swainson Brown of Shelter Island and Matthew Lapiana. Lavain Creighton, of Greenport, sold what police believe was fentanyl-laced cocaine to the two victims. Sini said authorities were able to link Creighton with the fatal overdose victims through text messages and geographical location data.
Sini said Justin Smith of Smithtown was Creighton’s alleged supplier, though he said Smith’s role in any of the fatal overdoses was still under investigation.
Creighton was later indicted on 16 counts, including manslaughter. In March, Suffolk Judge John B. Collins, dismissed manslaughter charges against Creighton in connection with the fatal overdoses, saying that prosecutors failed to present sufficient evidence that Creighton's conduct was reckless.
Both Creighton and Smith still face multiple drug-related charges, according to online court records.
If convicted in the federal case, Douglas and Pace each face up to life imprisonment.
With John Asbury
Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.
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