Long Island Drug Dealer Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison for Distributing Fentanyl that Caused the Death of a Suffolk County Man

Press Release

Defendant Trafficked Fentanyl Pills Marketed as Oxycodone

Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Tyheim Smith was sentenced by United States District Judge Gary R. Brown to 17 years in prison for distribution of fentanyl. As part of his guilty plea, Smith admitted his fentanyl caused the death of a 25-year-old Suffolk County man (the "Victim"), and that he used firearms in furtherance of his drug trafficking activity.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced the sentence.

"This prosecution demonstrates my Office's commitment to confronting the deadly fentanyl epidemic in this district," stated United States Attorney Peace. "Today, the defendant, a drug dealer who carried out his illicit business using illegal guns, was held accountable for distributing fentanyl that caused the tragic poisoning death of a young man on Long Island. The large quantities of fentanyl the defendant distributed all over Suffolk County had a devastating impact on the community, including by taking this young man away from his family. We will continue to work tirelessly to investigate and prosecute those who contribute to this epidemic."

Mr. Peace thanked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, New York, and the Suffolk County Police Department, for their work on the case.

In July 2021, Smith sold the Victim "blues," pills that the Victim believed were oxycodone, when in fact, the defendant knew the pills were fentanyl. The Victim's family found him dead in their Bay Shore residence after the Victim ingested the pills. Shortly after the Victim's death, over the course of one month, Smith sold fentanyl pills to undercover officers on five separate occasions. In October 2021, the Suffolk County Police Department executed a search of Smith's home and recovered 72 fentanyl pills marked as oxycodone and two loaded firearms, high-capacity magazines and ammunition. After being charged by the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, Smith continued to sell fentanyl while out on bail, until his federal arrest and remand in April 2022.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Justice, in 2023, nearly 108,000 people died from drug overdoses, making it a leading cause of injury-related death in the United States. The increase in overdose deaths has been driven in large part by fentanyl, a drug that has been described as 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. In 2023, over 74,000 people died from a drug overdose involving synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, a figure that was around 2,000 less than the more than 76,000 synthetic opioid overdose deaths that occurred in 2022. Between 2022 and 2023, overall drug overdose deaths declined approximately 3% from around nearly 111,000 such deaths in 2022.

The government's case is being handled by the Criminal Section of the Office's Long Island Division. Assistant United States Attorney Samantha Alessi is in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

TYHEIM SMITH
Age: 23
Central Islip, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 22-CR-183 (GRB)

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Updated September 23, 2024