Omar Aitcheson indicted on drug charges connected to ODs, 1 fatal, in Copiague
A North Amityville man allegedly sold "a deadly cocktail of fentanyl and tramadol" marketed as cocaine, to three Copiague men who overdosed last month, one fatally, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said Monday.
Omar Aitcheson, 31, was indicted Monday in Riverhead on charges of third-degree criminal sale of controlled substance and third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. County Court Judge and Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen Wilutis held Aitcheson on $250,000 cash or $500,000 bond.
“This defendant allegedly sold a substance that he advertised as cocaine, but which was instead revealed to be a deadly cocktail of fentanyl and tramadol that resulted in the overdose death of one man and the nonfatal overdoses of two others,” Tierney said in a news release.
Eric Besso, Aitcheson's Sayville-based defense attorney, did not respond to a request for comment.
Prosecutors contend that on Oct. 8, Aitcheson sold a fentanyl-Tramadol mixture to three Copiague men. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 50 to 100 times stronger than heroin, and ingesting just two milligrams can be lethal. Tramadol is a strong opioid pain medication used to treat moderate to severe pain with side effects that can slow or stop breathing.
The three men, believing they had purchased cocaine, snorted the substance that Aitcheson sold them and immediately experienced symptoms of an opioid overdose, authorities said.
Two of the three overdose victims were transported to Catholic Health Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip, prosecutors said. One victim was released after receiving treatment, and the other, a 32-year-old, was pronounced dead at the hospital, officials said.
Aitcheson, meanwhile, allegedly continued to sell narcotics even after the three overdoses, authorities said.
Last month, Aitcheson sold cocaine to undercover detectives on two separate dates and was arrested on Oct. 24, prosecutors said.
Aitcheson is due back in court on Dec. 12 and faces up to nine years in prison if convicted of the top count.
Correction: An earlier version of this story had the incorrect title for County Court Judge and Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen Wilutis.
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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