Riverhead Man Admits Selling Fentanyl-Laced Cocaine That Caused 4 Fatal ODs in 1 Day

A Riverhead man has admitted to selling fentanyl-laced cocaine that caused four people to fatally overdose on the same day on the North Fork and Shelter Island two years ago. 

Marquis Douglas pleaded guilty Thursday at Central Islip federal court to conspiring to distribute controlled substances and the distribution of controlled substances resulting in death.

“Douglas has admitted his role in a large-scale narcotics distribution operation as well as his role in the distribution of fentanyl laced cocaine that led to the deaths of  four men in a single day,” Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. “We hope today’s guilty plea begins to bring a measure of solace to the victims’ families.”  

Prosecutors said the 38-year-old orchestrated a years’ long conspiracy to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, one kilogram of heroin, 280 grams of crack cocaine, 40 grams of fentanyl and a quantity of fentanyl analogues. In August of 2021, his operation distributed cocaine laced with a  fentanyl analogue in Greenport and when it was sold at the street level, it ultimately led to four fatal overdoses on a single day across Greenport and Shelter Island.

Douglas was found with large quantities of cocaine and fentanyl when he was arrested and charged last year. He faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert.