Grand jury indicts Uniondale man on gun and drug charges, prosecutors say

A Nassau County grand jury has indicted a Uniondale man for his alleged role in gun and drugs sales in the Uniondale and Hempstead areas.

Raymond Lopez, 20, was arrested in July as part of an illegal narcotics and gun sales investigation involving federal authorities. Officials at the time said Lopez and nine others arrested were "significant players" connected to gangs.

The Tuesday indictment, unsealed at Nassau County Court in Mineola, charged Lopez with two counts of criminal sale of controlled substance in the 3rd degree (a B felony), two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the 3rd degree (a B felony), criminal possession of a weapon in the 2nd degree (a C violent felony) and criminal sale of a firearm in the 3rd degree (a D violent felony).

State Supreme Court Justice Angelo Delligatti ordered Lopez held on bail of $200,000 cash or bond. He is due back in court on Dec. 14, district attorney officials said.

"Illegal guns and drugs are far too common and we must use every tool at our disposal to remove them from our communities," Acting Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said in a statement. "Working together with our federal and local partners, we were able to take dangerous defendants off the streets and help make our County a safer place."

Authorities said Lopez sold 15 oxycodone pills for $320 on Dec. 4, 2014, 24 oxycodone pills for $440 on Jan. 21 and a .38 caliber revolver with ammunition for $500 on Feb. 11.

The Nassau County Special Investigation Squad arrested Lopez following the investigation, which also involved the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Lopez's lawyer Greg Madey, of Mineola, said the charges against his client are unfair and put the blame for his client's actions on the police investigation.

"He was never selling guns and pills out on the street," Madey said. "The police enticed him to do these things, they created a criminal out of him."