United States of America v. Perry Freeman

New York City, New York, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with selling, distributing controlled substances in violation of 21 U.S. 811.

Reported by: Kent Morlan

Perry Freeman distributed fentanyl that resulted in the death of a 37-yearold man Westchester County resident, conspiring to distribute crack cocaine, and illegally possessing ammunition,

On November 10, 2021, police responded to a report of a burning car in a parking lot in the Town of Mohegan Lake, New York, approximately a three-minute drive from FREEMAN’s apartment building. They found a Ford Focus on fire; the victim was in the driver’s seat with his foot on the accelerator pedal. After the fire department put the fire out, the victim—who was dead—was pulled out. Investigators determined that the car had caught fire after overheating while the accelerator pedal was depressed for an excessive period of time while the car was in park, i.e., while the victim was passed out in the driver’s seat with his foot on the pedal.

The Westchester County Medical Examiner’s Office, which is part of the Westchester Department of Laboratories and Research, performed an autopsy on the victim. The victim had lethal levels of both fentanyl and norfentanyl (a metabolite of fentanyl) in his blood, and there was some darkening of the victim’s lungs, which indicated smoke inhalation before his death. The victim’s cause of death was certified as both acute fentanyl intoxication and accident.

The Defendant was found guilty and was sentenced to 292 months in prison.