(NewsReady.com) – Sometimes criminals aren’t the sharpest knives in the drawer. There was once an entire television show dedicated to “America’s Dumbest Criminals.” A New York man who recently pleaded guilty in a Suffolk County courtroom could have starred on the program if it were still on TV.
On February 16, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney announced that 23-year-old Matthew Leshinsky pleaded guilty to several charges, including
- three felony counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree;
- one felony count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the second degree;
- one felony count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fourth degree;
- one felony count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree;
- one felony count of unlawful disposal of methamphetamine laboratory material;
- two felony counts of unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine in the third degree;
- one misdemeanor count of criminal possession of methamphetamine manufacturing material;
- one misdemeanor count of reckless endangerment in the second degree; and
- two misdemeanor counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree.
According to the DA, the man was running an operation like he was New York’s own Walter White from “Breaking Bad,” and he told on himself.
On June 7, 2023, at 3:30 a.m., Leshinsky called 911 to report a burglary in progress at his business, Quantitative Laboratories. Officers from the Suffolk County Police Department responded to the lab and saw broken glass at the entrance of the building. As they investigated the alleged break-in, they noticed there appeared to be a meth lab operating out of the business. In addition to meth, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a hallucinogenic, and other drugs were also being manufactured there.
Law enforcement obtained a search warrant and found more than 100 pieces of equipment, solvents, and chemicals used to make drugs. They also seized ecstasy, meth, ketamine, 20 55-gallon drugs of the date rape drug GHB, and more than $40,000 in cash.
Leshinsky’s sentencing date is set for March 20.
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