PUTNAM VALLEY- A 34-year-old resident of Queens has received a four-year state prison sentence after admitting to possessing drugs and weapons as a trial was about to get underway in Putnam County Court.
District Attorney Robert Tendy said on Friday that Modesto Martinez’s sentence also includes three years of supervision after his release.
On April 10, 2025, following an investigation by the New York State Police Community Stabilization Unit, Martinez was taken into custody. Investigators observed Martinez’s vehicle traveling on the Taconic State Parkway in Putnam Valley with illegally tinted windows. A patrol stopped the vehicle and noticed an apparent hidden compartment in the rear panel of the front passenger seat.
Utilizing a narcotics K-9, investigators found narcotics in the area of the hidden compartment and were able to open this hidden “trap,” by manipulating the vehicle’s mechanical and electrical system before recovering quantities of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl and assorted prescription pills, as well as a loaded Rugar handgun.
Tendy commended members of the State Police: “Once the dog got the scent of drugs, they all knew there were drugs somewhere. And they found it in a concealed “trap” compartment. Nice job by all.”
Comments