Joseph Pittman of Bay Shore sentenced to 8½ years in 'fatal overdose' of cocaine laced with fentanyl, DA says
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney. Credit: Tom Lambui
A Bay Shore man convicted of selling cocaine laced with fentanyl that resulted in what authorities described as "a fatal overdose" has been sentenced to 8½ years in prison followed by three years of post-release supervision, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced Friday.
The sentencing followed a guilty plea by Joseph Pittman, 44, on Wednesday before Supreme Court Justice Richard I. Horowitz to six counts of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and one count of tampering with evidence.
The district attorney's office said Pittman has 27 prior convictions, including five felony convictions. The office also said he was on parole when he sold fentanyl-laced cocaine to an undercover Suffolk County police detective in August 2022.
On Aug. 8, 2022, police responded to a call reporting a fatal overdose of a 53-year-old in Great River, authorities said They said at that time "a pocketknife with powder residue, which appeared to be cocaine," was recovered from the victim's bedroom. Testing at the Suffolk County Crime Laboratory later confirmed the powder was a mix of cocaine and fentanyl, the district attorney's office said.
An autopsy confirmed the victim died of acute mixed drug intoxication of the cocaine-fentanyl mix, authorities said.
The district attorney's office said a review of the victim's phone tied the drug transaction to Pittman and twice Pittman sold an undercover detective cocaine laced with fentanyl. A search warrant executed at Pittman's residence on Dec. 12 led to the recovery of cocaine, fentanyl, two digital scales and a cellphone — all, the district attorney's office said, as Pittman was "observed by police attempting to destroy and discard his narcotics out of a bathroom window into a pile of snow, while the warrant was being executed."
In a statement Friday, Tierney said: “This defendant’s criminal history dates back more than 25 years. He is a recidivist criminal who turned a profit by peddling deadly fentanyl resulting in the death of [the victim] … This case is a prime example of why we need the legislature to pass a Death by Dealer statute. In New York there is currently no additional penalty for fentanyl dealers who cause deaths by selling this lethal poison. That is unconscionable and needs to change.”
A Bay Shore man convicted of selling cocaine laced with fentanyl that resulted in what authorities described as "a fatal overdose" has been sentenced to 8½ years in prison followed by three years of post-release supervision, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced Friday.
The sentencing followed a guilty plea by Joseph Pittman, 44, on Wednesday before Supreme Court Justice Richard I. Horowitz to six counts of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and one count of tampering with evidence.
The district attorney's office said Pittman has 27 prior convictions, including five felony convictions. The office also said he was on parole when he sold fentanyl-laced cocaine to an undercover Suffolk County police detective in August 2022.
On Aug. 8, 2022, police responded to a call reporting a fatal overdose of a 53-year-old in Great River, authorities said They said at that time "a pocketknife with powder residue, which appeared to be cocaine," was recovered from the victim's bedroom. Testing at the Suffolk County Crime Laboratory later confirmed the powder was a mix of cocaine and fentanyl, the district attorney's office said.
An autopsy confirmed the victim died of acute mixed drug intoxication of the cocaine-fentanyl mix, authorities said.
The district attorney's office said a review of the victim's phone tied the drug transaction to Pittman and twice Pittman sold an undercover detective cocaine laced with fentanyl. A search warrant executed at Pittman's residence on Dec. 12 led to the recovery of cocaine, fentanyl, two digital scales and a cellphone — all, the district attorney's office said, as Pittman was "observed by police attempting to destroy and discard his narcotics out of a bathroom window into a pile of snow, while the warrant was being executed."
In a statement Friday, Tierney said: “This defendant’s criminal history dates back more than 25 years. He is a recidivist criminal who turned a profit by peddling deadly fentanyl resulting in the death of [the victim] … This case is a prime example of why we need the legislature to pass a Death by Dealer statute. In New York there is currently no additional penalty for fentanyl dealers who cause deaths by selling this lethal poison. That is unconscionable and needs to change.”
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
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