Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced a Hempstead man was sentenced yesterday to 14 years in prison for conducting a narcotics business from an unlicensed day care center in Hempstead and attempting to murder a romantic rival.
Lex Lloyd, 26, pleaded guilty on February 15, 2023, before Judge Robert Schwartz to Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree (an A-I felony), Attempted Murder in the Second Degree (a B violent felony), Assault in the First Degree (a B violent felony), Criminal Use of a Firearm in the First Degree (a B violent felony), three counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree (a B felony), Conspiracy in the Second Degree (a B felony), Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (a C violent felony), three counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (an A misdemeanor), and Menacing (an A misdemeanor).
The defendant was sentenced on Monday to 14 years in prison and five years’ post release supervision. The NCDA recommended a sentence of 18 years in prison.
“The defendant brazenly prepared narcotics near children’s toys and furniture at a fully functioning daycare center,” said DA Donnelly. “Countless children were put at risk because of this defendant’s behavior. In separate incidents, Lex Lloyd further endangered another child by attacking a romantic rival, who was with his son, and nearly killing the man in February 2021. I thank our prosecutors and the numerous law enforcement agencies which helped bring Lloyd and 40 other codefendants to justice as part of Operation Honeycomb.”
DA Donnelly said that in October 2019 the NCDA and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives began an investigation into an increase in violence and narcotics activity in the Hempstead area.
In March 2021, the NCDA announced the indictment of 40 people as part of Operation Honeycomb.
As part of a search warrant, investigators recovered 520 grams of cocaine, 50 oxycodone pills, two narcotics presses and several bullets at Lex Lloyd’s residence. It was determined that Lloyd and codefendant Anthony Austin conducted narcotics business from unlicensed day care centers in Hempstead and Rosedale, Queens.
Lloyd used acetone to prepare cocaine in a play area of the daycare center in Hempstead.
Separately, on February 10, 2021, at approximately 5:30 p.m., Lloyd shot a male victim in the back as the victim’s three-year-old son sat in a nearby car. Additionally, in December 2020, Lloyd menaced the same victim with a gun while the victim was holding his son’s hand. Lloyd was in a romantic relationship with the victim’s ex-girlfriend.
The defendant was arrested the following day by members of the Nassau County Police Department.
Operation Honeycomb codefendant Stephon Whethers pleaded guilty in September to Operating as a Major Trafficker and other related charges. Over a three-month period, Whethers made over $500,000 selling cocaine. Authorities recovered half a kilo of cocaine, a kilo press and other paraphernalia, and nearly $20,000 from Whethers’ house. The defendant was sentenced on February 10, 2023, to 15 years in prison. The NCDA recommended a sentence of 20 years in prison.
Austin was sentenced to four years in prison on October 26, 2021.
The drug investigation was dubbed Operation Honeycomb because a large volume of drugs was packaged and stored at a home on Frazier Street, which numerous defendants referred to as “the Honeycomb.”
As a result of the investigation, the following items were recovered through search warrants and car stops:
- 38 firearms, including assault weapons and ammunition
- 9,937 grams of nearly pure cocaine
- Approximately 1,478 grams of crack cocaine
- More than 1,144 grams of heroin
- 277 grams of fentanyl
- 210 grams of morphine – approximately 42,000 individual doses
- More than $398,000 in cash
The NCDA thanks our partners in the investigation: Federal Bureau of Investigation Long Island Gang Task Force; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Long Island Field Division; the Nassau County Police Department; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the New York State Police; and Drug Enforcement Administration. The Task Force includes members of the FBI, New York State Police, Nassau County Police, Suffolk County Police, Hempstead Police and Rockville Centre Police departments, as well as the Nassau County and Suffolk County sheriff’s departments.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Patrick Brand of the Organized Crime and Rackets Bureau. Lloyd is represented by Mitchell Elman, Esq. Whethers was represented by Robert Schalk, Esq.