Police: 5 face drug charges in Lynbrook

Five people were arrested, charged with drug possession, after one of them tried to sell a stolen computer to undercover detectives Wednesday in Lynbrook, police said.

The arrests took place near the intersection of Saperstein Plaza and Ross Plaza, adjacent to the Long Island Rail Road tracks, at 3:05 p.m., Nassau County police said.

Police said the five, who were in a 2005 BMW, were in possession of heroin, cocaine, Suboxone and marijuana.

Arrested were: Jamel Turner, 21, of 340 Martha Ave., Bellport; Oscar Oliva, 22, of 1 W. Lyon St., Melville; Oscar Ortez, 21, of 62 W. Pulaski Rd., Huntington Station; Jeanette Patterson, 19, of 13 S. Emerald Lane, Amityville; and, Shannon Copelin, 30, of 643 Post Ave., Bellmore.

The arrests were made by Nassau Narcotics Squad detectives, along with Bureau of Special Operations officers.

The defendants were each charged with three counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. Turner also was charged with third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and third-degree criminal possession of stolen property.

All five are scheduled for arraignment Thursday in First District Court in Hempstead.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”