Valley Stream man one of 17 indicted in narcotics smuggling ring

Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced on Oct. 4 that 17 people — one of whom is from Valley Stream — have been indicted by a grand jury for allegedly selling and trafficking heroin and cocaine in Nassau and Suffolk counties, Queens, upstate New York and other states over the last year and a half.

“Fourteen law enforcement agencies collaborated with my office’s dedicated investigators on this massive takedown that has dismantled what we allege to be a multi-state, cross country drug trafficking enterprise that pumped huge quantities of cocaine and deadly heroin into our communities and throughout the northeast,” Singas said in a news release. “Our partners at the federal, state and local level worked together seamlessly to uncover the novel smuggling methods used in this ‘family business’ and to shut it down before more lives were ruined by the poison these defendants supplied.”

Jean-Luc Theodore, 35, of Valley Stream, and 16 others were named in the indictment. Twelve defendants were arrested and arraigned before Supervising Judge Christopher Quinn on Oct. 3. Four defendants are currently incarcerated and awaiting arraignment, while another defendant has yet to be apprehended.

The defendants face a variety of charges. These include conspiracy, criminal possession of a controlled substance, criminal sale of a controlled substance, and criminal facilitation, court records show. The indictment alleges a drug conspiracy was in operation from May 2016 to September 2017.

Singas said that according to the eight-count indictment, Kervin Etienne, 37, and Lyonel Beaubren, 41, and another relative founded a drug distribution operation that supplied large quantities of cocaine and heroin to 14 members of their crew. The district attorney’s Special Operations and Narcotics Bureau began the investigation in March 2016 and discovered that the organization transported cocaine on commercial flights from Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Ariz., to John F. Kennedy Airport. The three defendants allegedly stored the narcotics at various trap houses located in Queens and Nassau counties. These drugs were transported by members of the organization to associates for distribution in Nassau, Suffolk and Queens counties.

The defendants, several of whom are related, allegedly distributed narcotics at the kilogram level with profits estimated at $50,000 to $75,000 per week. The group allegedly supplied major dealers on Long Island, New York City, Upstate New York, Chicago, Maine, Maryland and Virginia. The family members drive luxury cars, such as Porsche, Mercedes and BMWs, and live and work together in four separate locations in Nassau and Queens Counties.

As of press time on Oct. 4, the following people had been arraigned:
•Lyonel Beaubrun, 41, Rosedale, Queens — remanded
•Kervin Etienne, 36, West Hempstead — remanded
•Jean-Luc Theodore, 35, Valley Stream — bail set at $50,000 bond over $25,000 cash
•Jaksem Phileppe, 42, Far Rockaway, Queens — bail set at $150,000 bond over $75,000 cash
•Musheer Reid, 34, Brooklyn — bail set at $100,000 bond or cash
•Emmanuel Lemite, 38, Rosedale, Queens — bail set at $50,000 bond or cash
•Ebony Johnson, 36, Brooklyn — bail set at $50,000 bond or cash
•John Beaubrun, 38, West Hempstead — bail set at $250,000 bond over $125,000 cash
•Naeemah Smith, 37, Rosedale, Queens — bail set at $5,000 bond over $2,500 cash
•Sandra Marseilles, 38, Rosedale, Queens — bail set at $150,000 over $75,000 cash
•Sully Botello, 33, Central Islip — bail set at $5,000 bond over $2,500 cash
•Ashley Cumbo, 27, Bellerose — bail set at $200,000 bond over $100,000 cash