DA Claims Drug Perp Tried Rooftop Escape
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Kareem Walter
Samuel Spells
One of the men facing multiple gun and drug charges stemming from a Dec. 11 raid at a 58 Lowndes Ave. home in Huntington Station attempted to escape the purported drug den by jumping onto the roof outside his bedroom, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said.
Spota made the claim about Samuel Spells, 32, whom he described as a five-time prior felony offender, on Monday before Spells and Kareem Walters, 32, described as a two-time prior offender, were to be arraigned on an indictment in Riverhead Dec. 23.
Once inside, investigators discovered drugs and guns strewn throughout the house, Spota said. The detectives “entered a potentially very violent situation and seized a total of six loaded weapons, ammunition, cocaine and cash,” Spota said.
Police said both men are affiliated with the Southside Posse (SSP) gang; Spells’ attorney, Huntington-based John LoTurco, denied any gang affiliation of his client.
The district attorney alleges Spells had five loaded guns, including a handgun, near his bed and an assault weapon with “an attachment for a high capacity ammunition feeding device in his room.” Second Precinct detectives also seized cocaine, a scale, and packaging materials found in his room, Spota’s office said.
That contention contradicts claims by LoTurco, who said his client was “at the wrong place at the wrong time” and was a guest of Walters’ at the time of the raid.
In Walters’ part of the house, Spota said detectives seized a handgun, cocaine, a scale and two dishes used to make crack.
All told, police said they seized about a half-dozen guns, 5 ounces of cocaine and about $4,000 during the 7 a.m. raid.
The arrests followed what police described as an “extensive investigation” in response to complaints by neighbors of alleged drug dealing at the home. The probe by narcotics detectives, Second Precinct detectives and other precinct personnel resulted in a narcotics search warrant being issued, police said.
LoTurco has argued that the search warrant targeted Walters only, but because nobody fessed up to ownership of the guns and drugs discovered in the raid, both Walters and Spells were charged.
Both men were on parole at the time of the Dec. 11 raid for drug felonies, according the state’s online parolee database. According to online state parole records, Walters was released May 9 after being convicted of third-degree criminal possession and sale of a controlled substance, both B felonies. Spells was paroled July 22 after being convicted of fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a D felony.
