Prosecutors: Copiague man sentenced to 10 years for drug trafficking

A Copiague man, who trafficked large amounts of cocaine with an estimated street value of more than $300,000, was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison, Nassau prosecutors said.

Allen Evans, 47, pleaded guilty in July to second-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and second-degree conspiracy. He must also serve five years post-release supervision, officials said.

"High-level drug dealers have flooded our communities with narcotics during the pandemic, resulting in increased overdoses that destroy lives and kill people," said acting Nassau County District Attorney Joyce Smith. "This defendant was selling up to a kilogram of cocaine at a time to other dealers who distributed it throughout the county. Allen Evans was prosecuted as part of Operation Honeycomb, an investigation that dealt a significant blow to the illegal drug trade — and its violence — in Hempstead."

Daniel Russo, Evans' Garden City-based defense attorney, said his client "readily admitted his guilt in this matter and is looking forward to putting this behind him at the conclusion of his incarceration."

As part of the 18-month criminal investigation, Evans emerged as a major drug supplier throughout Nassau County, officials said. According to the investigators, over a four-month period in 2020, Evans sold between a half a kilogram to a kilogram of cocaine at a time, trafficking the drugs from Suffolk into Nassau.

Relying on information gleaned from wiretapped phone calls, Evans' car was stopped on Nov. 13, 2020, and police found a kilogram of cocaine that surveillance confirmed he had just purchased in the Bronx, prosecutors said. He was arrested by Nassau police and then rearrested in March as part of the Operation Honeycomb indictment.

Operation Honeycomb has resulted in the indictment of 40 individuals involved in a narcotics trafficking ring that operated in the Hempstead area, prosecutors said.

Evans is the second major supplier nabbed as part of the investigation to be sentenced.

Jamel Shands, 44, of Hempstead, who authorities said played a significant role working with major traffickers, was sentenced last month to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and second-degree conspiracy.

Cases against the other suppliers and traffickers arrested during the operation are pending.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.