Two suspects linked to fatal fentanyl overdose of man in Riverhead, officials say

Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini said two Lake Grove residents have been arrested after they were linked with a fatal fentanyl overdose last month amid what he said is an uptick in overdoses during the coronavirus pandemic.

The arrests of two alleged drug dealers followed an investigation by the district attorney’s East End Drug Task Force after the late April fatal narcotic overdose of a 27-year-old man in Riverhead Town, authorities said.

“Preliminary data has indicated that Suffolk County is experiencing an uptick in overdoses during the pandemic, which is obviously very concerning,” Sini said in a news release Wednesday. “Whenever there is a fatal overdose, we treat that investigation similarly to a homicide; we take immediate steps to try to determine who sold the drugs to that victim."

Preliminary statistics show a 16% increase in total overdoses so far this year in areas patrolled by the Suffolk police department. This year, the police-patrol areas have recorded 578 overdoses compared to 497 in the same period in 2019, according to Sini spokeswoman Sheila Kelly.

The uptick represents a reversal of the county’s battle with the opioid crisis and the two-year downward trend in fatal overdoses.

Opioids have claimed the lives of more than 4,000 Long Islanders since 2010. But in late March, Newsday reported that fatal opioid overdoses in Suffolk County had dropped nearly 18% in 2019, the second consecutive annual decline. 

Investigators said they executed a search warrant at the home of boyfriend-girlfriend duo Edward Primavera, 30, and Brooke Edwards, 35, on Monday, and authorities said they found crack cocaine, fentanyl, $1,521 in cash and drug paraphernalia, including a digital scale and packaging materials consistent with drug sales.

Authorities did not explain how they linked the defendants to the fatal overdose, but said they "conducted an extensive investigation into the origin of the fentanyl" which resulted in the arrests. 

The two have not been charged with the death.

Defense attorneys for Primavera and Edwards could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Primavera was charged with third- and fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, felonies, and two counts of second-degree criminal use of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor.

Edwards was charged with two counts each of third- and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and two counts second-degree criminal use of drug paraphernalia. Primavera and Edwards were arraigned Tuesday and were released on supervised release with drug and alcohol conditions, authorities said. They are due back in court on July 22.

If convicted of the top count, Primavera and Edwards each face a maximum sentence of 8 and one-third to 25 years in prison.

The East End Drug Task Force investigation included assistance from the Riverhead Town Police Department, the Suffolk County Narcotics Squad, the Suffolk County Police Fourth Precinct and the New York State Police, authorities said.
 

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.