WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — A Clarkstown man was sentenced to more than 21 years in federal prison for distributing fentanyl that caused three fatal and three non-fatal poisonings in Rockland County. The sentencing follows an investigation by the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office Drug Task Force, the Clarkstown Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Justin Turnick, 26, of Congers, pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute fentanyl and admitted responsibility for the poisonings, which occurred between February 2020 and April 2022. U.S. District Judge Philip M. Halpern handed down the sentence.
Prosecutors said Turnick regularly distributed fentanyl in various forms, including pills, pure fentanyl, and fentanyl-laced powder, to people in his community, including friends and acquaintances.
The fentanyl he provided led to the deaths of 19-year-old Gustaf Olsen on Feb. 3, 2020, 22-year-old Jonathan Shashoua on July 11, 2020, and 18-year-old Ione Koenig on July 31, 2021. Koenig had also suffered a non-fatal poisoning a day earlier. Two other individuals, an 18-year-old girl and a 23-year-old man, survived fentanyl poisonings in January 2021 and April 2022, respectively.
Authorities emphasized the case as part of ongoing efforts to combat the fentanyl crisis in Rockland County.