5 Attempted To Smuggle Fentanyl Into Suffolk County Jail: DA

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — Five were indicted Wednesday after they tried to smuggle fentanyl into the Suffolk County Correctional facility, District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

The fentanyl was reportedly sprayed onto sheets of paper that the five tried to disguise as legal papers, the DA said. Jyzir Hamilton, Alyssa Brienza, Janiah Williams, Eric Freeman and Arnold Foster were indicted on the following charges, Tierney said:

Hamilton, 35, of Hauppauge, was indicted on charges including:

- One count of second-degree conspiracy, a felony
- Two counts of third-degree attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance, felonies
- One count of first-degree attempted promoting prison contraband, a felony
- One count of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor
- One count of second-degree promoting prison contraband, a misdemeanor.

Brienza, 30, of Calverton, was indicted on charges including:

- One count of second-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, a felony
- One count of second-degree conspiracy, a felony
-Two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, felonies
- One count of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a felony
- One count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a felony
- One count of second-degree criminal use of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor
- One count of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor

Williams, 24, of Central Islip, was indicted on charges including:

- One count of second-degree attempted criminal sale of a controlled substance, a felony
- One count of second-degree conspiracy, a felony
- Two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, felonies
- One count of first-degree attempted promoting prison contraband, a felony

Freeman, 48, of Huntington Station, was indicted on charges including:

- One count of second-degree conspiracy, a felony

Foster, 33, of Centereach, was indicted on charges including:

- One count of second-degree conspiracy, a felony

The Suffolk County Correctional Facility monitors and records various types of communications
initiated by inmates; the inmates at the Suffolk County correctional facilities are notified of the
monitoring, Tierney said.

According to the investigation, on August 22, deputy sheriff investigators received information from Suffolk County Correctional Facility correction officers that Hamilton, an
inmate at the jail, was reportedly planning for Williams, his girlfriend, to deliver fentanyl-laced
papers to him through his defense attorney, who allegedly had no knowledge of the plan, Tierney said.

Hamilton was incarcerated in Suffolk County for a number of pending criminal charges,
including second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, Tierney said.

Hamilton then placed a series of calls to Brienza, asking her about obtaining fentanyl; Brienza then spoke to Foster, who, at the time, was serving a prison sentence at the Green Haven Correctional Facility in Stormville, NY, for a conviction of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, Tierney said.

During his conversations with Brienza, Foster set the price for the fentanyl to be sold to Hamilton, the DA said. Once Hamilton learned of the cost from Brienza, he then spoke to Wiliams, who was to arrange for the delivery of the fentanyl to the Suffolk County Correctional Facility, Tierney said.

On August 19, Brienza delivered four blank pages to Williams that were sprayed with a liquid laced with fentanyl, the DA said. Hamilton then instructed Williams to contact an attorney representing Freeman, Tierney said.

Freeman had informed his attorney that someone would be delivering legal documents to him; he then asked his attorney to pass the documents, delivered by Williams, to him, Tierney said.

On August 23, after contacting the attorney and advising him that she was on her way, Williams was then arrested by deputy sheriffs as she entered the Arthur M. Cromarty Court
Complex building in Riverhead, Tierney said. Deputy sheriffs found a manila envelope containing
four pages with legal terms printed on them in Williams' possession; the four pages were submitted to the Suffolk County crime laboratory for testing — and laboratory analysis revealed the presence of fentanyl, Tierney said.

On October 3, Brienza was arrested, and law enforcement found one-eighth of an ounce of cocaine, $1,130 in cash, and a scale inside her vehicle, Tierney said. Also, inside her vehicle
at the time was her four-year-old child, Tierney said.

On Wednesday, at his arraignment on the indictment, Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro ordered Hamilton to be remanded during the pendency of his case, which is awaiting sentencing on previous charges of fourth-degree conspiracy and fourth-degree possession of a weapon, Tierney said; Hamilton's charges under the indictment are not bail eligible, Tierney said.

He is being represented by Jon Manley, and his next court date is on December 18, Tierney said. Manley could not immediately be reached for comment.

Freeman was remanded without bail on charges pending before Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard I. Horowitz, including first-degree attempted rape, Tierney said. Freeman is a persistent eligible violent felony offender, which makes him eligible for bail on the indictment, the DA said.

On November 15, at his arraignment on the indictment, Justice Ambro ordered Freeman held on $500,000 cash, $2 million bond or $5 million partially secured bond; Freeman is being represented by John Halverson, Esq and his next court date is December 18, Tierney said. Halvorsen could not immediately be reached for comment.

Brienza, Foster and Williams are scheduled to be arraigned on November 27 before Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard Horowitz, Tierney said.

"This group not only allegedly attempted to smuggle deadly fentanyl into the Suffolk County Correctional Facility, but they also attempted to use an unsuspecting defense attorney to deliver it," the DA said. "Had any of the fentanyl from the laced sheets of paper been ingested in any way, through touch or otherwise, the results could have been deadly. Fortunately, the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office thwarted this alleged conspiracy before anyone was hurt. Drug dealers will continue to come up with elaborate schemes like the one alleged here in order to peddle lethal drugs, all while the current New York State law remain non-bail eligible."

Tierney added: "Our state legislators must act now in order to keep fentanyl dealers off the streets in order to save lives."

"If these criminals were successful in their attempt to smuggle more than $20,000 of deadly fentanyl into the jail, there is no doubt that tragedy would have followed," said Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr. "This discovery of attempted drug trafficking could not have been made without the intelligence gleaned from our newly established Corrections Intelligence Center who were able to work with neighboring jurisdictions to get prudent information that aided the investigation and ultimately led to an arrest. This case is another stellar example of collaborative law enforcement — and the partnership between the Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office has once again stopped drugs from getting into the wrong hands."