MINEOLA, NY — Six people were indicted this week after prosecutors said a yearlong investigation revealed that they had been running a "large-scale narcotics trafficking conspiracy" to bring fentanyl and other drugs into Nassau County from a Queens apartment.
According to prosecutors, the indictments came after a search warrant was executed at the Queens home of 42-year-old Jemmal Bryan on July 16 of this year.
The search of the home in Jamaica, Queens revealed about 1,040 grams of fentanyl, 2,261 packaged envelopes containing fentanyl, about 200 grams of cocaine, about 100 grams of crack, about 17 grams of MDMA, about a gram of purple fentanyl, about eight grams of adderall, four firearms, two of which were stolen, and $12,371 in cash, prosecutors said.
Also recovered from that search warrant were two cellphones that prosecutors said were connected to Bryan, over 15,000 empty envelopes, drug paraphernalia, drug cutting agents, test strips, Narcan and other tools, prosecutors said.
Bryan was indicted along with four co-conspirators: His sister, Keana Bryan, 38-year-old Middle Island resident Ian Sharkey, 35-year-old Glen Cove resident Leo Duchnowski and 45-year-old Merrick resident Jennifer Loheide, prosecutors said. Also indicted, prosecutors said, was a 76-year-old Seaford resident named Joseph Giunta
"Jemmal Bryan is arrogant, shameless, and he did not care whether people lived or died," Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said. "As we investigated this defendant for a year, he allegedly made hundreds of narcotics sales and amassed half a million doses of fentanyl that he planned to sell on the streets of Nassau County. He treated his operation like an around-the-clock service; allegedly dealing high quantities at a high frequency and bragging about the potency of his product. Even as his clients told him his products were lethal, this defendant bragged that people loved it. Bryan cut some of his supply with xylazine, which is still outrageously not classified as a controlled substance in New York State. The loopholes in our state drug laws must be closed, and legislators must act to keep New Yorkers safe. Without major changes, prosecutors will be stuck playing catch up and more people will die."
According to the indictment of Bryan and his co-conspirators, NCPD found envelopes full of drugs at multiple overdoses this summer — one fatal OD in June and one non-fatal OD in July. The envelopes, officials said, were stamped with green ink with the name "Bruce Banner" on them.
Police investigated the stamps, with the investigation leading them to phone numbers connected to Bryan, officials said. The investigation also revealed that Bryan had made hundreds of drug sales throughout Nassau County, including in Glen Cove, Massapequa, Merrick, Roosevelt and Valley Stream, often working with his sister, Keana.
Prosecutors said the investigation showed Bryan had made some of the sales out of a Ford Explorer that Duchnowski had rented for him, and some in the driveway of Loheide's home in Merrick. According to prosecutors, Bryan sold the envelopes filled with fentanyl, fentanyl mixed with xylazine, or cocaine, in packages of 10 or 100 envelopes.
Prosecutors said Bryan made more than $75,000 in six months of drug sales. One man in particular, Ian Sharkey, bought between 140 and 180 envelopes full of fentanyl at a time from Bryan, making purchases every two-to-three days over the course of the investigation with all of the envelopes bearing the green "Bruce Banner" stamp, prosecutors said.
Bryan was arrested the day after police searched his home, on July 17, 2026, prosecutors said. Duchnowski was arrested on July 20 while Sharkey, Keana Bryan and Loheide were all arrested on July 21, prosecutors said. Giunta, prosecutors said, was arrested on June 24.
Bryan was arraigned Sept. 1 and charged with two counts of operating as a major trafficker, one count of second-degree conspiracy, one count of fourth-degree conspiracy, one count of fifth-degree conspiracy, one count of first-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, 23 counts of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, and 27 counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, prosecutors said. Bryan has pleaded not guilty to all charges, is due back in court on Oct. 6 and could face up to 25 years in jail if he is convicted, prosecutors said.
As for Keana, prosecutors said the 43-year-old was arraigned Sept. 4 and pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree conspiracy, fourth-degree conspiracy, fifth-degree conspiracy, first-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, seven counts of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and eight counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, prosecutors said. If found guilty, she could face up to 25 years in prison as well, prosecutors said.
Sharkey was charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, fourth-degree conspiracy and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, prosecutors said, to all of which he has pleaded not guilty. He is due back in court on Sept. 11 and could face nine years in prison if found guilty, prosecutors said.
Duchnowski and Loheide, of Glen Cove and Merrick, respectively, were each charged with fourth-and fifth-degree conspiracy, pleading not guilty and facing up to four years in prison if found guilty, prosecutors said.
Finally, Giunta was charged with third-and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, pleaded guilty and could face up to nine years in prison if found guilty, prosecutors said.
"This drug dealer thought he was going to get away with trafficking narcotics in our county. He was wrong," Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said. "The County Executive and I will do everything in our power to hold criminals accountable. Our detectives conducted a thorough investigation and worked with our partners in the DA's office and HSI. We took these dangerous individuals off of the streets and will continue to send a message that we will never back down from those who put our residents in danger."
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