Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Andy Sukram, 33, of Flanders, was found guilty after a jury trial of possessing nearly one ounce of crack cocaine with the intent to sell it.
“This defendant, a prior violent felony offender who was released on parole after being incarcerated for 12 years, lasted just two years out of prison before committing another crime,” said District Attorney Tierney. “Let this case be a warning that if you peddle dangerous drugs to others in Suffolk County, we will prosecute the case to the fullest extent of the law and seek a significant prison sentence.”
The evidence at trial established that on February 1, 2023, Sukram was pulled over on Old Country Road in Riverhead by members of the Suffolk County Police Department. Sukram and the 2006 Chevrolet Malibu he was driving were then searched. During the search, police found cash and crack cocaine hidden in Sukram’s waistband. Law enforcement also found two cell phones and a digital scale often used for weighing drugs.
In 2009, Sukram was convicted in Suffolk County of Burglary in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony, and Robbery in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony, and served 12 years in prison. He was on parole when he was arrested in February.
On October 26, 2023, Sukram was convicted after a jury trial heard before Supreme Court Justice, the Honorable Timothy P. Mazzei, of two counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, Class C felonies.
Sukram is due back in court on December 5, 2023, for sentencing, and faces up to 15 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision. He is being represented by Jason Bassett, Esq.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Danielle Carter and Patrick Fedun of the Major Crime Bureau, with investigative assistance from Detectives Christopher Fiori and Wayne Heater of the Suffolk County Police Department.
Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.