Posted on: November 07, 2024 01:45 PM

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Three men charged with cannabis possession after more than 850 pounds of Marijuana found in a Long Island City apartment

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Cesar Egas Nagua, Michel Garcia Rodriguez and Alain Prieto Romero were charged with criminal possession of cannabis after a search warrant uncovered more than 850 pounds of cannabis flower with a street value in excess of $100,000 in a Long Island City apartment.

District Attorney Katz said: “A call for a wellness check at a Long Island City apartment led police officers to the discovery and seizure of more than 850 pounds of marijuana. Three defendants are now charged with felony possession of cannabis and this investigation is ongoing. Unregulated marijuana products pose a danger to our communities and my office will aggressively prosecute those who bring them into our neighborhoods.”

Egas Nagua, 34, of Floyd Street in Brentwood; Garcia Rodriguez, 25, of 48th Avenue in Long Island City; and Prieto Romero, 23, of 48th Avenue in Long Island City, were arraigned Tuesday night on a charge of criminal possession of cannabis in the first degree. Judge Jerry Iannece ordered them to return to court on January 16, 2025.

According to the charges, on November 4, at approximately 5:30 p.m., police responded to a 911 call about an assault with a knife at an apartment on 50th Avenue in Long Island City.

An NYPD officer knocked on the apartment door and saw the three defendants inside. The officer asked if he could perform a wellness check, and he was allowed to enter the unit.Once inside, the officer saw multiple large clear plastic bags containing cannabis flower on the floor of a bedroom. Multiple clear plastic bags with cannabis flower were also on the floor of a second bedroom, next to several open suitcases.

Officers obtained a court-authorized search warrant and recovered numerous bags with cannabis flower weighing more than 850 pounds.

Assistant District Attorney Kieran Linehan, Section Chief, Major Narcotics in the Major Economic Crimes Bureau, is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Mary Lowenburg, Bureau Chief, Catherine Kane, Senior Deputy Bureau Chief, Jonathan Scharf, Deputy Bureau Chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney of Investigations Gerard Brave.

From Queens DA's Office.