Lex Lloyd of Hempstead sentenced to 14 years in prison for selling drugs out of day care centers, DA says

A Hempstead man accused of selling narcotics from an unlicensed day care center and attempting to kill a romantic rival was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Monday, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said. 

Lex Lloyd, 26, pleaded guilty on Feb. 15 to first-degree possession of a controlled substance, as well as second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and other charges linked to the February 2021 shooting of his girlfriend's ex.

Prosecutors had asked for an 18-year sentence, officials said.

Lloyd was arrested as part of Operation Honeycomb, an investigation launched in 2021 by the district attorney’s office and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives into a spike in violence and drug activity in the Hempstead area.

Forty people were indicted in March 2021 for their involvement in a major narcotics ring as a result of the 18-month investigation, the district attorney's office said.

Investigators who executed a search warrant recovered 520 grams of cocaine, 50 oxycodone pills, two narcotics presses and several bullets at Lloyd's home, Donnelly's office said.

The investigation determined that Lloyd and co-defendant Anthony Austin of Rosedale, Queens, operated a narcotics business from day care centers in Hempstead and Rosedale. Austin pleaded guilty in 2021 and was sentenced to four years in prison.

“The defendant brazenly prepared narcotics near children’s toys and furniture at a fully functioning day care center,” Donnelly said, referring to Lloyd. “Countless children were put at risk because of this defendant’s behavior.” 

Lloyd’s attorney, Mitchell Elman, declined to comment.

Lloyd also shot a man in the back on Feb. 10, 2021, as the victim’s 3-year-old son sat in a nearby car, prosecutors said. In December 2020, Lloyd also menaced the same man with a gun while the victim was holding his son’s hand. Lloyd was in a romantic relationship with the victim’s ex-girlfriend, prosecutors said.

Operation Honeycomb co-defendant Stephon Whethers of Roosevelt  pleaded guilty in September to operating as a major trafficker and other related charges. Nassau prosecutors said Whethers made more than $500,000 selling cocaine. Investigators recovered half a kilo of cocaine and drug paraphernalia at his home, along with nearly $20,000.

Whethers was sentenced in February to 15 years in prison.

The investigation was called Operation Honeycomb because a large volume of drugs was allegedly packaged and stored at a defendant’s home, which was frequently referred to as the “honeycomb” by co-defendants in wiretapped calls.

The total street value of the narcotics seized as a result of the operation was approximately $2.7 million, the district attorney' office said. Authorities seized 36 firearms, including assault weapons and ammunition, during the investigation.