Flanders Man Found Guilty Of Intent To Sell 1 Ounce Of Crack: DA

FLANDERS, NY — A Flanders man was found guilty Thursday after a jury trial of possessing almost an ounce of crack cocaine with the intent to sell, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Andy Sukram, 33, of Flanders, was convicted after a jury trial heard before Supreme Court Justice Timothy P. Mazzei of two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, felonies, Tierney said.

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, the DA said.

Sukram and the 2006 Chevrolet Malibu he was driving were then searched; during the search, police found cash and crack cocaine hidden in Sukram’s waistband, Tierney said.

Law enforcement also found two cell phones and a digital scale often used for weighing drugs, the DA said.

In 2009, Sukram was convicted in Suffolk County of first-degree burglary, a violent felony, and first-degree robbery, a violent felony, and served 12 years in prison, Tierney said. He was on parole when he was arrested in February, he added.

Sukram is due back in court on December 5 for sentencing, and faces up to 15 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision, Tierney said. He is being represented by Jason Bassett, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"This defendant, a prior violent felony offender who was released on parole after being incarcerated for 12 years, lasted just two years out of prison before committing another crime," said Tierney. "Let this case be a warning that if you peddle dangerous drugs to others in Suffolk County, we will prosecute the case to the fullest extent of the law and seek a significant prison sentence."