SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — A Freeport man with multiple prior felony convictions was found guilty of selling cocaine to an undercover Suffolk County police detective on three occasions in 2025, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.
Ishmel Owens, 34, was convicted Wednesday following a jury trial before Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei, prosecutors said.
According to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, police began an undercover investigation in April 2025 after receiving information that Owens was selling narcotics.
Prosecutors said Owens first met an undercover detective at the Lowe's shopping center in Commack on April 24, 2025, where he sold the detective 0.06 ounces of cocaine for $250.
Six days later, Owens met the detective at the Uncle Giuseppe's shopping center in Melville and sold 0.13 ounces of cocaine for $350, prosecutors said.
A third transaction was arranged for May 29 at the Lowe's in Commack after the undercover detective texted Owens asking whether he could purchase two "8-balls" of cocaine for $400, according to prosecutors. The meeting was postponed until May 30.
During that meeting, Owens sold the detective 0.125 ounces of what was determined to be crack cocaine for $400, prosecutors said. The detective later contacted Owens because the drugs were not in powder form and the amount was less than requested, according to the district attorney's office.
Owens agreed to return to the Lowe's but did not show up, prosecutors said.
He was arrested Jan. 14 in Inwood, Nassau County.
The jury convicted Owens of three counts each of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, two counts of fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and one count of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.
The district attorney's office said Owens' prior convictions include first-degree robbery, second-degree burglary and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, as well as misdemeanor convictions for criminal possession of stolen property and petit larceny.
The latest conviction marks Owens' fourth felony conviction since 2010, prosecutors said.
Owens is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 21 and faces up to 45 years in prison. He is represented by the Legal Aid Society, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
"This defendant has amassed a total of six criminal convictions, and his latest crime of selling illegal narcotics underscores his continued willingness to endanger the public," Tierney said. "Drug sales are never a victimless crime; they fuel violence, addiction and instability in every corner of our community."
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