(Long Island, NY) Yesterday, a Suffolk County jury convicted two men of A-1 felony charges for Operating as Major Traffickers following an eight week trial and eight days of jury deliberation.
Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said the defendants, Joel Guzman of Ridgewood, Queens and Carlos Melendez of the Bronx both face 25 years to life as a result of the verdict. The defendants headed a heroin distribution organization spanning Suffolk, Nassau, Queens and Bronx Counties. They sold heroin from Sayville to Smithtown, Selden, Sound Beach, Ronkonkoma, East Islip and elsewhere.
from left to right: Carlos Melendez of the Bronx and Joel Guzman of Ridgewood, Queens.
Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said, “We believe this is one of the first jury verdicts in New York State convicting defendants under the Operating as a Major Trafficker statute passed in 2009. This valuable law enforcement tool will keep purveyors of poison like Guzman and Melendez off our streets and away from our children for life.”
Source: Suffolk DA Office
