Part 3 of an ongoing series on the fentanyl crisis by South Shore Press reporter Robert Chartuk.
Whenever a drug overdose happens in Suffolk County, a special team swoops in to see if illegal drugs were involved and apprehend the dealer so no one else falls victim.
With fentanyl and other deadly drugs wreaking havoc across Long Island, the Overdose Team is expert in finding evidence both at the scene of the crime and off site through cell phone data, surveillance, witnesses, and other investigatory means.
The team was on the scene when Chelsey Murray was found unresponsive by her mother in their Lake Grove Home. While she was fighting for her life, the source of the fentanyl mix that killed her was identified and arrested. He’s now serving a 10-year sentence.
Headed by Narcotics Bureau Chief Mark Murray, the team took center stage at the first-ever Fentanyl Summit hosted by Suffolk District Attorney Raymond Tierney. “We examine the scene and review the circumstances of the overdose,” Murray explained. “We then work backwards, picking up pieces of the puzzle until we find the dealer and take the products out of circulation. We want to make sure no one else is harmed.”
Two veteran prosecutors, Nicole Felice and Dani Davis, are assigned to the team and they shared the details of their work with the summit attendees, many of whom were family members of overdose victims. “Time is not our ally, pieces of the puzzle disappear,” Felice said. She zeroed in on four key facets of an overdose investigation.
Forensics: The team looks for DNA evidence, cell phone data, videos, Uber records, social media posts.
Physical Evidence: Product packaging, drugs and residue; crime lab findings.
Toxicology: Working with the Medical Examiner’s Office, the investigators find clues in blood and body samples.
Testimonials: Witness information helps the team put together what happened.
“We have a finite window to act,” Davis noted. “We encourage people to cooperate, and many times it’s hard when family members are involved. Its tough on them; they’re going through grief, maybe they’re afraid to say something.”
The team is an advocate of the Good Samaritan Law, which gives witnesses or victims of a drug or alcohol overdose protection from prosecution as long as they act in good faith. “Saying they don’t know what happened is not acting in good faith,” Davis said as she showed a slide of a man walking away from two overdose victims laying on the ground. “Good faith is not just calling 911 and walking away. We need open communication to save lives.”
They recommended that friends and family not post information about an overdose so as to not tip off the dealer and urged them to not delete any phone or computer records that may be helpful to investigators. “Don’t flush anything down the toilet; don’t lie,” Davis said.
Fentanyl manufactured in Mexico with ingredients from China is coming over the open southern border in record amounts. An American is dying from it every five seconds. In Suffolk, Ray Tierney and his overdose team are doing everything they can to save lives.