Ronkonkoma man who sold fentanyl pills that looked like oxycodone injured police while fleeing, Suffolk DA says
A Ronkonkoma man was arraigned Wednesday on charges that he sold fentanyl pills and ran over a police officer with his vehicle while trying to evade arrest, Suffolk District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said in a news release.
Christian Castillo, 20, was part of a police investigation on March 9 on 50th Street in Lindenhurst when at around 7:30 p.m. an officer in an unmarked vehicle attempted to pull him over. Castillo, who was driving a rented 2022 Mercedes-Benz sedan, fled instead, striking several police vehicles and an officer, who was injured, prosecutors said.
The car was later located abandoned on Daniel Street in Lindenhurst. After a monthlong search, Castillo was arrested in Moriches after he again attempted to flee, according to the release.
An investigation into Castillo began in April 2022 when the Suffolk County Police Department received information that he was selling counterfeit oxycodone pills. After law enforcement obtained a quantity of the pills, an analysis found that the pills were fentanyl, not oxycodone.
Law enforcement linked those pills to a fatal drug overdose in Lindenhurst, and a review of the victim’s cellphone led detectives to Castillo, according to prosecutors.
“This is yet another reminder of the dangers that police officers face on a daily basis. This defendant allegedly attempted to evade arrest, by running down a Suffolk County Police Officer with his vehicle,” said Tierney. “That, combined with the defendant’s alleged sale of fentanyl, illustrates his disregard for the safety of others.”
On Wednesday in Suffolk County Court, Castillo was charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree; two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree; one count of assault in the second degree; two counts of criminal mischief in the third degree; and one count of resisting arrest.
Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard I. Horowitz ordered Castillo held on $500,000 cash, $1 million bond or $1.5 million partially secured bond. He is due back in court on June 6. His attorney, Michael Finkelstein, could not be reached for comment.
