Couple Arrested In Apartment Drug Raid

By Andrew Wroblewski

awroblewski@longislandergroup.com

Shamari Williams

Aliza Durante

The parents of a 5-month-old, one of which is an alleged Huntington Station gang member, were arrested Friday following a raid on the couple’s Northport apartment, in which police seized cocaine, marijuana and related drug paraphernalia.

Northport Village Police Chief Bill Ricca said suspicious activity near the Prospect Avenue apartment led to about six complaints from local residents since the end of October and sparked a month-long police investigation and eventual execution of a search warrant.

“Residents said they saw hand-to-hand transactions and almost all of them said the inflow of traffic was coming in quick. They’d be there for a couple of minutes and then they’d be gone,” Ricca said. He would not give a specific address of the apartment, but it is found on a small block immediately south of St. Philp Neri Church and near Weekday Nursery School.

At around 6:07 a.m. Friday, police raided the home and arrested Shamari Williams, 26, and Aliza Durante, 20, the parents of the 5-month-old child who Ricca said was unharmed and left in the care of one of Durante’s “close” family member.

Ricca said police discovered a felony amount of cocaine and a small amount of marijuana in the apartment. They also found an electronic stun gun and materials used to weigh, package and distribute cocaine and heroin.

While police did not find any heroin in the home, Ricca said the department is confident Williams was selling the drug out of the home.

“It was more of a heroin operation; cocaine was his side business,” Ricca said of Williams, adding that police believe Williams is allegedly a member of Huntington Station-based gang Old Station Soldiers, or OSS.

Williams and Durante are charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third, fifth and seventh degrees; second-degree criminal use of drug paraphernalia; seventh-degree criminal possession of a weapon; unlawful possession of marijuana; and endangering the welfare of a child.

“We just charged them with possession for investigative purposes,” Ricca said.

Williams, who is representing himself, was arraigned Friday in First District Court in Central Islip and was released Saturday on a $30,000 bond, according to court records. He was due to appear back in court Wednesday, after deadline.

Durante, who is represented by Northport-based attorney Devin Campbell, was arraigned Friday and released on $750 cash bail, according to court records. She was due to again appear in court on Wednesday.