Brother-Sister Fentanyl Ring in Queens Linked to Fatal Long Island Overdose
Jemmal and Keana Bryan, siblings from Queens and upstate NY, face drug trafficking charges after a yearlong probe tied their operation to a 2025 fatal overdose.
Queens Siblings Charged Over Fentanyl and 'Tranq' Sales Across Long Island
A fatal drug overdose in June 2025 led Nassau County authorities to a brother-and-sister trafficking network that distributed fentanyl and xylazine — known as "tranq" — across multiple Long Island communities, including Glen Cove, Massapequa and Roosevelt, newsday.com reports.
Jemmal Bryan, 42, of Jamaica, Queens, and his sister Keana Bryan, 43, of Endicott, upstate New York, were arrested in July following a yearlong investigation involving the Department of Homeland Security, the Nassau County Police Department, the NYPD and county prosecutors.
Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said at a Wednesday morning news conference that Jemmal Bryan processed and packaged the drugs at his Jamaica home, stamping each batch with a distinctive green logo he called "Bruce Banner." Different stamps indicated different potency levels, and Bryan reportedly tailored his product to individual customers' preferences.
"He offered advice on which mixtures of his drugs would give them the best high and which might be too strong," Donnelly said. On occasion, she added, he would ask customers whether they "wanted to die tonight."
Prosecutors say Bryan sold bundles of 10 envelopes or sleeves of 100 envelopes to co-conspirators, moving between 140 and 180 envelopes every two to three days and netting approximately $75,000 over six months. He would sometimes conduct sales from a rented black Ford Explorer parked in the driveway of co-defendant Jennifer Loheide's home in Merrick.
Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said the operation began to unravel after two overdoses were traced back to Bryan's product. A 30-year-old man from Bayville died in June 2025 after consuming the drugs. A second, non-fatal overdose occurred approximately one month later, and investigators linked both incidents to Bryan's phone number and alleged network.
During the investigation, authorities recorded Bryan boasting in phone conversations that he "got the whole of Long Island." When warned that people were falling ill and dying, he reportedly responded: "Nah, people love the stuff."
A separate fatal overdose took place more recently at the Glen Cove home of co-defendant Leo Duchnowski, 35, according to Ryder. To prevent police from entering his residence, Duchnowski allegedly dragged the victim into his yard before placing a call to 911.
Donnelly used the news conference to press state legislators on a legal gap surrounding xylazine, an animal tranquilizer increasingly mixed with street drugs. The substance is not yet classified as a controlled substance under New York State law. "We're losing when synthetic compounds hit the streets and our prosecutors cannot charge defendants because of an antiquated, out-of-date list of controlled substances," she said.
Jemmal Bryan pleaded not guilty on 1 September during his arraignment on an indictment carrying two counts of operating as a major drug trafficker, 23 counts of drug sales and 27 counts of drug possession, among other charges. He is due back in court on 6 October.
Keana Bryan entered a not-guilty plea on Friday to several counts of conspiracy, seven counts of drug dealing and eight counts of drug possession. Duchnowski and Loheide were also arraigned on Friday and each pleaded not guilty to multiple conspiracy charges.
Two additional defendants — Ian Sharkey, 38, of Middle Island, and Joseph Giunta, 76, of Seaford — were arrested on drug possession charges connected to the trafficking conspiracy. Both pleaded not guilty.
Sharkey's attorney, Aaron Wallenstein, told newsday.com that his client "denies the charges" and "is not the seller of drugs." Wallenstein described Sharkey as "an upstanding citizen" who operates a masonry business. Giunta's lawyer, Nicholas Carra, declined to comment. Attorneys for the remaining defendants had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.
Source: Google News JM — Crime