Police: Husband sold heroin to cop with wife, daughter in vehicle

A Queens couple who brought their toddler to a drug deal were arrested Wednesday night in Franklin Square after the husband sold heroin to an undercover officer, Nassau County police said.

Reese R. Russell, 25, of 186-11 Mangin Ave., St. Albans, was charged with third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and with endangering the welfare of a child. His wife, Viktoriia Russell, 23, was charged with third-degree possession of a forged instrument, as well as child endangerment.

The toddler, identified as an 18-month-old girl, was released to the custody of a family member, police said. She was unharmed.

Police said the arrests, at 8:20 p.m., were conducted by Narcotics / Vice Bureau detectives as part of the Long Island Heroin Initiative.

Police said that Reese Russell sold heroin to an undercover detective "for an agreed upon sum of money" and that during the subsequent investigation, Viktoriia Russell showed officers a fraudulent Connecticut driver's license -- with "fictitious information." The toddler was inside the vehicle during the transaction, police said in a statement.

The couple both face 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.”