HOLBROOK, NY – Russell “Merc” Defreitas, 55, of Holbrook, New York, has been sentenced to 53 years in state prison after being convicted on 92 counts related to a large-scale cocaine and fentanyl trafficking operation in Suffolk County. The operation was linked to the overdose deaths of two individuals.
In September 2022, law enforcement responded to a fatal overdose in Holbrook. The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office East End Drug Task Force initiated an investigation, uncovering Defreitas’s involvement in a significant drug distribution network. The network was found to be distributing substantial amounts of crack cocaine and fentanyl, utilizing loaded firearms to protect their operations.
On March 9, 2023, a male and female overdosed in a hotel room rented by Defreitas. Instead of seeking immediate medical assistance, Defreitas instructed associates not to call 911, removed evidence from the scene, and left to eat at a nearby restaurant. Hours later, he permitted an associate to call emergency services, but both individuals had already succumbed to the overdoses.
Defreitas was arrested on March 11, 2023, while staying at another hotel. Search warrants executed at his hotel room, trailer in Holbrook, and vehicle led to the seizure of cocaine, fentanyl, two loaded firearms, cutting agents, drug packaging materials, scales, and numerous hotel room key cards. At the time of his arrest, Defreitas possessed bank cards belonging to two of his overdose victims.
Defreitas represented himself during the trial. On May 18, 2023, he testified on his own behalf, during which he was found to have lied under oath about his drug dealing activities. The jury found him guilty of 92 counts, including:
- Operating as a Major Drug Trafficker
- Multiple counts of Criminal Sale and Possession of a Controlled Substance
- Criminal Possession of a Weapon
- Perjury
- Tampering with Physical Evidence
- Criminally Using Drug Paraphernalia
The trial was conducted before Acting Supreme Court Justice Anthony Senft.
Yesterday, April 29, 2025, Defreitas was sentenced to 53 years in prison. Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney highlighted the case as indicative of the need for stronger legislation, such as Chelsey’s Law, which would allow prosecutors to charge drug dealers with manslaughter or aggravated manslaughter if their products cause death.
This defendant’s actions directly led to two overdose fatalities, yet our current laws don’t allow us to charge these preventable deaths as the homicides that they are,” Tierney stated. “Chelsey’s Law would ensure that those who profit from dealing deadly substances face consequences proportionate to the devastation they cause in our communities.”
