Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Omar Aitcheson, 31, of North Amityville, was indicted for Criminal Sale of Controlled Substance and other related charges, after allegedly selling a fentanyl-tramadol mixture to three Copiague men, causing a fatal overdose of a 32-year-old man, and the non-fatal overdose of the two others.
“This defendant allegedly sold a substance that he advertised as cocaine, but which was instead revealed to be a deadly cocktail of fentanyl and tramadol that resulted in the overdose death of one man and the non-fatal overdoses of two others,” said District Attorney Tierney. “While we tirelessly prosecute cases like this one, justice will not fully be done until our state drug and bail laws are fixed. It is unconscionable that my prosecutors cannot even ask for bail on fentanyl dealers until after a death results, when it is already too late.”
According to the investigation, on October 8, 2023, Aitcheson allegedly sold a fentanyl-tramadol mixture to three Copiague men in Suffolk County. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid drug that is 50 to 100 times stronger than heroin, and ingesting just two milligrams can be lethal. Tramadol is a strong opioid pain medication used to treat moderate to severe pain with side effects that can slow or stop breathing.
Believing that they had purchased cocaine, the three men snorted the substance that Aitcheson allegedly sold them, and all three immediately experienced symptoms of an opioid overdose. Two of the three overdose victims were transported to Catholic Health Good Samaritan Hospital to be treated. One of those victims was released after receiving treatment, and the other, a 32-year-old man, was pronounced dead upon his arrival at the hospital.
Aitcheson continued to sell narcotics after he sold the fentanyl-tramadol mixture to the three victims. In October 2023, Aitcheson allegedly sold cocaine to undercover detectives on two separate dates. Aitcheson was arrested on October 24, 2023.
On November 6, 2023, Aitcheson was arraigned on the indictment by Acting County Court Judge, the Honorable Karen M. Wilutis for Criminal Sale of Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a Class B felony, and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a Class B felony.
Judge Senft ordered Aitcheson held on $250,000 cash, $500,000 bond, or $2.5 million partially secured bond during the pendency of the case. Aitcheson is due back in court on December 12, 2023, and faces up to nine years in prison if convicted of the top count. He is being represented by Eric Besso, Esq.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Nicole Felice of the Narcotics Bureau, with investigative assistance from Detective John DeNobrega of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Narcotics Section.
Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.