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Austin Hunter, 43, of Amityville, was convicted on Monday, Nov. 9, in connection with the April 2019 fatal overdose in Lindenhurst, said Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini.
During an investigation of the death, police were able to connect Hunter to the death after using a cellphone recovered on the scene that showed him as the supplier of the fentanyl that killed the victim, the DA's office said.
In May 2019, law enforcement agents from the Long Island Heroin Task Force conducted a covert operation to purchase narcotics from Hunter. He was arrested upon his arrival at the agreed-upon location.
The case marks the first conviction in Suffolk County history for a criminal sale of a controlled substance based upon a toxicology analysis as opposed to the physical recovery of narcotics.
It is also the first felony trial conviction in Suffolk County since jury trials were reinstated following the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Pandemic or no pandemic, if you are selling drugs in Suffolk County, we are coming for you. Simple as that,” Sini said.
Hunter, who will be sentenced on Tuesday, Dec. 15, was convicted of:
- Three counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance
- Possession of a controlled substance
- Criminally using drug paraphernalia
He faces up to 24 years in prison.
“Unfortunately New York State still does not have an explicit ‘death-by-dealer’ statute on the books, but that hasn’t stopped our office from arresting and convicting drug dealers in connection with fatal overdoses, and seeking maximum prison time for those criminals,” Sini added.
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