Driver in fatal pleads not guilty in drug case
David Heise, 28, of Mooney Pond Road was driving a Dodge pickup truck on Veterans Memorial Highway in Ronkonkoma when he struck a BMW driven by Eugene Franjola, 17, of Oakdale, police said. Franjola and his friend Stephen Massina, 16, of Sayville, died in the crash. (April 11, 2010) Credit: SCPD
The Selden man who has admitted killing two teens in a car crash and dealing drugs pleaded not guilty Wednesday afternoon to trying to smuggle drugs into the Suffolk County jail.
David Heise, 29, faces 101/3 to 14 years in prison when he is sentenced for criminally negligent homicide and on drug charges. He had been out on bail even after pleading guilty, but he lost his freedom and a plea deal when he got arrested on a new heroin possession charge last month in Queens.
After he entered the jail, it became apparent that he'd secreted a balloon full of drugs inside his body, said Assistant District Attorney Melissa Turk. He now faces an additional 21/3 to 7 years in prison for the new charge of promoting prison contraband.
Suffolk County Court Judge James Hudson set bail of $50,000 cash or $150,000 bond on the new charge, but noted that it was academic because Heise is being held without bail on the earlier charges.
Heise ran a red light in May 2010 and killed Eugene Franjola, 17, of Oakdale, and Stephen Massina, 16, of Sayville.
Massina's mother, Margaret Massina, said she wants the case to be over.
"Let's just get this guy put away where he belongs, and let's move on," she said.
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