HEMPSTEAD, Long Island (WABC) — A man from Hempstead is facing drug and animal abuse charges after investigators said they found tens of thousands of lethal doses of fentanyl in his home.
Authorities said they also found several dogs and evidence of dog fighting in the home.
Kevin Brown, 39, entered the courthouse on Wednesday and looked nonchalant. As he waited for his arraignment he even smiled and denied to Eyewitness News who he was.
“This isn’t just cruel, it’s a serious crime,” said Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly.
Prosecutors and police brought a dog to the press conference — one of seven pit bulls who since recovered after being found at the home in Hempstead.
Authorities say they discovered the animals with scars and lacerations being kept in weighted collars heavier than they were and living in dirty crates.
They also found a loaded gun and more than 1,000 pressed pills laced with fentanyl.
“Sixty-five thousand lethal doses of fentanyl were recovered,” Donnelly said. “That could kill thousands of people in Nassau County if it had hit the streets.”
Authorities explained that dog fighting charges often go hand in hand with drug sales and weapons.
But Brown’s attorney denies all his client’s alleged crimes.
“He’s a family man he’s married, he’s got kids,” said defense attorney Marck Gann. “I don’t believe he was the owner of these dogs, and I think the DAs made assumptions about dog fighting that I don’t think is accurate.”
Meanwhile prosecutors aren’t buying it and neither are police. Brown is now charged with 34 counts and could face 15 years behind bars.
“We’re gonna give him a nice comfortable cell, he should live in the same squalor that he put these poor dogs in and let him learn that little lesson in life,” said Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder.
Brown remains out on $200,000 bond. As for just how tiny a dose of fentanyl can be lethal? Authorities say it can be as small as the tip of a pencil.
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