Long Island Barbershop Narcotics Bust Leads To 3 Arrests: DA

Three men were arraigned Wednesday on charges connected to selling narcotics, including pure fentanyl marked as heroin, out of a Long Island barbershop, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini.

A 53-count indictment was unsealed against 41-year-old Coram resident Juan "Willy" Lopez-Enriquez, 64-year-old Rocky Point resident Santiago "Jose Rosado/Old Man" Tavarez and 33-year-old Port Jefferson Station resident Santiago Tavarez.

The DA says all three men either worked at or patronized Man Cave Barbershop, located at 1125 Route 112 in Port Jefferson Station.

“The Man Cave gave barbershop customers a choice of hair styles and a choice of drugs,” Sini said in a press release. “When they should have been focusing on cutting hair, these defendants were in the back room, cutting fentanyl and cocaine.”

The DA says Lopez-Enriquez, a manager and barber, coordinated the sale of narcotics out of the business while Encarnacion, who is an employee of the barbershop, and Tavarez, who frequented the shop on a social basis, were also involved in narcotics sales.

The investigation, which began in January, revealed the men sold approximately one kilogram of narcotics per month, earning $50,000 monthly, using the barbershop as a hub of the operation, the DA says. The narcotics included heroin, cocaine and fentanyl, which they allegedly marketed as heroin.

“What’s more is that they were telling customers that they were selling heroin, when in fact they were selling pure fentanyl,” Sini said. “This is an extremely common, and extremely dangerous, tactic used by drug dealers to make a higher profit at the expense of others’ lives.”

The DA's Heroin Task Force, the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigation and the Suffolk County Police Department executed search warrants on October 4 the Man Cave Barbershop and affiliated locations.

The DA says they seized a loaded semiautomatic handgun; a box containing 38 cartridges of ammunition; a hydraulic kilo press; two scales; packaging materials; approximately 20 grams of cocaine; and approximately 200 grams of powder cutting agent, which is used to dilute narcotics to make them more profitable.

"This barbershop was not just selling haircuts, but instead, as alleged, these individuals sold highly addictive drugs out of this place of business,” Angel M. Melendez, special agent in charge of HSI New York, said. “With fatal overdoses on the rise, law enforcement remains diligent in its pursuit to arrest those criminals seeking to fill their pockets on the vulnerabilities of others.”

Lopez-Enriquez was charged with two counts first-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, 12 counts of second-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, two counts of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, 32 counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm and three counts of second-degree criminally using drug paraphernalia.

Tavarez was charged with first-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, two counts of second-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and six counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Encarnacion was charged with two counts of second-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and four counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Bail was set for Lopez-Enriquez at $250,000 cash or $500,000 bond. He faces a maximum sentence of eight to 20 years in prison if convicted of the top count.

Bail was set for Tavarez at $200,000 or $400,000 bond. He faces a maximum sentence of eight to 20 years in prison if convicted of the top count.

Bail was set for Encarnacion at $100,000 cash or $200,000 bond. He faces a maximum sentence of three to 10 years in prison.

Image via SCDA: (l-r) Lopez-Enriquez , Tavarez and Encarnacion