Updated 10 a.m.: A long-term investigation by Riverhead Police into heroin sales in the Wading River business district area resulted in the arrests of two alleged drug dealers yesterday.
Police have charged Curtis Prussick, 30, and Amber Schatz, 26, both of Ridge, with criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, a class B felony.
According to felony complaints on file in Riverhead Justice Court, the pair sold a quantity of heroin. The complaints did not provide details of the alleged sales.
Martin Lorenzotti, an attorney who appeared on behalf of the defendants at their arraignments this morning, said it was not clear from the complaint “whether there was a confidential informant or a wiretap involved,” but, he said, Prussick “denies the allegations and will fight them in court.”
Noting that his mother was in the courtroom and would post bail, Lorenzotti asked the court to release Prussick on his own recognizance or to set a “minimal bail.” The defendant, he said, has never failed to make court appearances, the lawyer said. He lives with his parents in Ridge and works in construction, Lorenzotti said.
According to court records, Prussick has an extensive criminal history that includes one felony conviction and seven misdemeanor convictions, .
Schatz has a prior misdemeanor driving while intoxicated conviction and lives with her mother in Mastic, Lorenzotti said. She works with her mother cleaning houses, he said.
Riverhead Town Justice Richard Ehlers set bail at $5,000 for Prussick and $1,000 for Schatz. They are both scheduled to return to court on Sept. 30. Prussick’s mother said she would post bail at the station. Schatz was remanded to the county jail.
The Riverhead COPE unit was assisted in the investigation by the East End Drug Task Force, according to a Riverhead Town Police press release issued late last night.
Editor’s note: A criminal charge is an accusation. By law, a person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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