2 Long Island Men Charged In Drug Sale Leading To Fatal Overdose: Prosecutors

RIVERSIDE, NY — A 65-count indictment unveiled Friday alleges a plot to deal drugs, with one sale resulting in the fatal fentanyl overdose of a woman in Nassau, as well as a plan to track an associate with GPS to steal money in a break-in, Suffolk prosecutors said.

The indictment stems from a 2022 investigation by Suffolk police and the Drug Enforcement Agency, who received a tip that Kelvin Corona, 41, of Mastic, was selling cocaine and fentanyl and investigators subsequently got the drugs from him on seven separate occasions, according to prosecutors.

On three of those dates, Corona sold over one-half ounce of cocaine and/or fentanyl, prosecutors said.

Investigators found Naesean Crawford, 26, of Islip, was Corona's drug supplier, and then Corona would give Dwight Diaz, Kyra McLaughlin, David Damore, and Alyssa Taverna drugs to sell on the street, according to prosecutors.

One of the drug sales resulted in the fatal overdose of a 35-year-old woman who was found unresponsive by a friend in a home in Nassau in February, prosecutors said, adding that purple fentanyl and a crack pipe were found in the room where she was.

Preliminary toxicology results from the Nassau County Medical Examiner's office found the presence of fentanyl and cocaine in her system, prosecutors said.

Corona and Damore are charged with the sale that led to the fatal overdose, according to prosecutors.

Investigators later learned Corona, Diaz, and McLaughlin were involved in a plot to burglarize the home of a known associate they believed had a large amount of cash, but they didn't know where he lived, so Corona obtained a Global-positioning system tracker, prosecutors said.

The trio then developed a plan to lure the man to a mutual location under the false pretense of purchasing a motorbike from him, prosecutors said, adding that once he arrived, the strategy was to place the GPS under the man’s vehicle so that they could get the address from the data transmitted from the device.

Afterward, they intended to break into his home and steal his money, and Corona intended to undertake the burglary with a firearm, prosecutors said.

The DA’s office tracked Corona’s GPS tracker in real-time, and on March 31, Suffolk police intervened to prevent the burglary, finding the tracker in Corona’s Nissan Altima before it had been placed on the man's vehicle, according to prosecutors.

Multiple search warrants were executed at homes in Islip, Mastic, and Mastic Beach.

Among the items seized during the warrant executions were multiple illegal weapons, including assault weapons and handguns, large-capacity ammunition magazines, 9mm ammunition, cocaine, a money counter, a drug press, cutting agents, scales, packaging material for drug distribution, multiple cell phones, and over four grand in cash, prosecutors said.

District Attorney Ray Tierney said the group "left no stone unturned in pursuit of their unlawful activities."

“Not only did they distribute deadly narcotics such as fentanyl, they also unlawfully possessed illegal weapons and even plotted to commit a home invasion robbery," he said. "I thank our law enforcement partners for helping us to thwart this plot.”

Corona was indicted for a total of 43 counts, including charges of criminal sale of a controlled substance and possession; as well as conspiracy, criminally using drug paraphernalia, and criminal possession of a weapon.

Crawford, 26, and Bonilla, 22, both of Islip, were charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, criminal possession of a controlled substance, criminal possession of a weapon and firearm, as well as criminally using paraphernalia.

Crawford was additionally charged with conspiracy.

McLaughlin, 28, of Mastic Beach, was also charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, as well as conspiracy.

Damore, 39, of Shirley, was charged with conspiracy, criminal possession of a controlled substance, and criminal sale of a controlled substance.

Taverna, 30, of Shirley, and Diaz, 41, of Port Jefferson Station, was charged with conspiracy.

De Los Santos, 49, of Mastic Beach, was charged with several counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

Corona was held on $1 million cash, $2 million bond, or $10 million partially-secured bond. He is due back in court on May 25.

His attorney, William Keahon of Hauppauge, could not be reached for comment.

Damore was held on $100,000 cash, $250,000 bond, or $1 million partially-secured bond. He is due back in court on May 24

His attorney, Michael Elbert of Melville, also could not be reached for comment.

McLaughlin was ineligible for cash bail and was released with conditions, including GPS monitoring and a surrender of her passport. She is due back in court on May 25.

De Los Santos was released with conditions, including GPS monitoring and the surrender of his passport. He is due back in court on May 25.

Keahon also represented McLaughlin and De Los Santos at the unveiling of the indictment, according to Tierney's office.

Crawford was released on a $200,000 bond with additional conditions, including GPS monitoring and the surrender of his passport. He is due back in court on June 6.

Crawford's attorney, John Loturco of Huntington, said his client has "no prior convictions and is presumed innocent.

"He is a lifetime Suffolk resident who has tremendous support from a large loving family," he said. "We are at the beginning stages of a criminal prosecution. We will therefore carefully scrutinize all the discovery once provided by the District Attorney's office to determine our legal strategies going forward on behalf of our client.

Bonilla was released on $100,000 bond with additional conditions, including GPS monitoring and a surrender of her passport. She is due back in court on June 6.

Her attorney, Robert Macedonio of Central Islip, said he entered a plea of not guilty, adding, "I am confident that Miss Bonilla will be found innocent of all charges once we reach a final disposition."

Diaz was ineligible for cash bail and was released with conditions, including GPS monitoring and the surrender of his passport. He is due back in court on June 8

Patch has reached out to Diaz's attorney, Toni Marie Angeli of Uniondale, for comment

Taverna was also ineligible for cash bail and was released with conditions, including GPS monitoring and the surrender of her passport. She is due back in court on June 6, 2023.

Her attorney, Peter Mayer of Hauppauge, could not be reached for comment.