Shirley Restaurant Owner, Nephew Indicted on Cocaine Sales Charges

The owner of Stop n Nyamm, a Jamaican restaurant in Shirley, allegedly kept his cocaine supply in a fake soda can with a false bottom tucked beneath the counter, where an undercover officer watched him retrieve it during a string of drug buys that stretched across January and February 2026.

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced March 18 that Carlton Williams, 58, of Farmingville, and his nephew Rohan Rose, 47, also of Farmingville, were indicted on felony charges stemming from the investigation by the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office Fentanyl Task Force. Williams owns and operates Stop n Nyamm; Rose worked there as an employee.

The indictment charges Williams with one count of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, five counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, three counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, and two counts of Criminally Using Drug Paraphernalia in the Second Degree. The sale and possession counts are Class B felonies; the weapon counts are Class D felonies. Williams faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the top count.

Prosecutors allege that on at least one occasion Williams arranged for Rose to step in and complete a drug transaction. Rose faces a single indictment carrying a maximum of nine years in prison on the top count.

Williams was arraigned March 16 before Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro, who ordered him held on $250,000 cash, $1,000,000 bond, or $2,500,000 partially secured bond. He is due back in court May 1 and is represented by Robert Macedonio, Esq. Rose was arraigned two days later before the same judge and was ordered held on $10,000 cash, $20,000 bond, or $40,000 partially secured bond. His next court date is May 6; Michael Brown, Esq. is representing him.

"A restaurant is a place where people come together over a meal, not a place where deadly drugs like cocaine and fentanyl should allegedly be bought and sold," Tierney said. "These defendants allegedly did just that, turning a community gathering spot into a drug distribution operation."

The weapon charges, which cover three Class D felony counts, have not been detailed publicly by prosecutors, and it remains unclear from the announced indictment what weapons were seized or where. The DA's office has not specified whether fentanyl was recovered during the investigation or whether the reference in Tierney's statement was intended as broader commentary on the dangers posed by the illicit drug trade.