Paroled Violent Felony Offender Sentenced For Crack Possession: DA

RIVERHEAD, NY — A Flanders man was sentenced to 14 years in prison Monday after a jury found him guilty in October of possessing nearly an ounce of crack cocaine with intent to sell, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

He was arrested for that crime in February while on parole, Tierney said.

"This case highlights how broken our parole system is," said Tierney. "This defendant, a prior violent felony offender, was caught committing this crime while on parole. Now he is going back to prison for another 14 years. The legislature has tied the hands of our parole officers by making it next to impossible to violate parole offenders."

The evidence at trial established that on February 1, Sukram was pulled over on Old Country
Road in Riverhead by members of the Suffolk County Police Department, Tierney said. Sukram and the 2006 Chevrolet Malibu he was driving were then searched, the DA said.

During the search, police found cash and crack cocaine hidden in Sukram’s waistband; law enforcement also found two cell phones and a digital scale often used for weighing drugs, Tierney said.

In 2009, Sukram was convicted in Suffolk County of first-degree burglary, a violent
felony, and first-degree robbery, a violent felony; he served 12 years in prison, Tierney said.

On October 26, a jury convicted Sukram of two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, felonies, Tierney said.

On December 4, 2023, Sukram was sentenced before Supreme Court Justice Timothy P. Mazzei to 14 years in prison followed by three years of post-release supervision, Tierney said. He was being represented by Jason Bassett, who could not immediately be reached for comment.