LI Man Pleads Guilty To Distributing Fentanyl That Led To 4 ODs: Feds

NORTH FORK, NY — A Riverhead man pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiring to distribute the fentanyl-laced cocaine that led to four overdoses in one day on the North Fork, Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said.

In federal court in Central Islip, Marquis Douglas, 38, a narcotics trafficker who operated a drug business that was responsible for the distribution of large quantities of cocaine and fentanyl, along with other illicit substances throughout the North Fork, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Joanna Seybert to conspiring to distribute controlled substances and the distribution of controlled substances resulting in death, Peace said.

Douglas was charged in June 2022., Peace said.

"Today, Douglas has admitted his role in a large scale narcotics distribution operation as well as his role in the distribution of fentanyl laced cocaine that led to the deaths of four men in a single day," Peace said. "We hope today’s guilty plea begins to bring a measure of solace to the victims’ families."

According to court filings and statements made during Thursday's proceeding, Douglas orchestrated a years’ long conspiracy to distribute over five kilograms of cocaine, one kilogram of heroin, 280 grams of crack cocaine, 40 grams of ffentanyl and a quantity of fentanyl analogues.

In August of 2021, Douglas’ operation distributed a quantity of cocaine laced with a fentanyl analogue in Greenport, Peace said. When this cocaine was re-distributed at the street level, it ultimately led to four fatal overdoses on a single day across Greenport and Shelter Island.

A deadly batch of fentanyl-laced cocaine led to a rash of eight overdoses and six deaths on the North Fork and Shelter Island over eight days in August, 2021, police said at the time.

When apprehended in Suffolk County on May 5, 2022, Douglas was found in possession of large, sellable quantities of cocaine and fentanyl, Pace said.

When sentenced, Douglas faces up to life in prison, federal officials added.

The community mourned the lost, gathering together at a vigil in Greenport to share memories and tears. The overdoses led to the creation of Narcan stations in businesses across the North Fork, to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.