Boyfriend of woman killed in double stabbing nabbed in Va. on drug charges

Dean Smoronk (Police mugshot)

FARMINGTON - The boyfriend of one of the two women stabbed to death at a Farmington residence in January was arrested on drug charges in Virginia, less than two weeks after being arrested on a criminal mischief charge here.

Dean Smoronk, 55, of Meaderboro Road, Farmington, was taken into custody by Virginia State Police on Sunday after drugs were found in his vehicle during a traffic stop on Interstate 95.

Charges included manufacturing and selling steroids, possession of needles, capsules and a pipe; four counts of possession of controlled substances and obstructing justice.
The arrest unfolded when Virginia State Police stopped a 2016 Ford Transit Van speeding in a work zone on the southbound side of the highway around 5 a.m., according to Sgt. Steve Vick, a public information officer.

Vick said the female driver, Dusty Cousens, 40, of Berwick, Maine, was the original driver, and switched seats with Smoronk as they were coming to a stop on the right shoulder because she did not have a valid license.
During a search of the vehicle police found illegal narcotics and paraphernalia in the van as well as on passenger Nicholas Batista, 20, of Rochester.

Timothy Verrill is charged in the deaths of Christine Sullivan, left, and Jenna Pellegrini.

The drugs seized included ecstasy, crystal methamphetamine, two forms of anabolic steroids, needles, glass meth pipes, packaging materials and digital scales," Vick said in an email late Tuesday.
Smoronk was charged with four felonies as well as several misdemeanors, while Cousens was charged with one felony and several misdemeanors, including drug possession, identity theft and providing false information to law enforcement. Batista was charged with one felony and two misdemeanors for possessing drugs and paraphernalia, as well as obstructing justice.
Vick said all three are being held without bail at Pamunkey Regional Jail in Hanover, Va. Another female passenger was not charged.

Court records show Smoronk's Monday arraignment was continued.

Smoronk, meanwhile, also faces arraignment next month in Rochester District Court on Class A misdemeanor charges stemming from a May 31 altercation with a Rochester man outside Smoronk's Farmington home.

The complaint alleges Smoronk hit the windshield of a 1998 Chevrolet van belonging to the man with a baseball bat. Smoronk was released on personal recognizance bail with a July 5 arraignment.

It was Smoronk who told police he found the bodies of his girlfriend, Christine Sullivan, 48, who split her time between southwest Florida and Farmington; and Jenna Pellegrini, 32, of Barrington after returning home late Jan. 28 on a flight from Florida, where he and Sullivan also spent time.

Their bodies were discovered around 3 a.m. on Jan. 29 when Farmington Police responded to a 911 call at 979 Meaderboro Road, however court documents allege the crime occurred on Jan. 27, the previous Friday.

Timothy Verrill, 34, of Dover, was arrested in their deaths in February and is being held without bail. A grand jury indictment is expected by next month.

Evidence in the double murder case is expected to include thousands of pages of documents as well as dozens of CDs containing audio recordings and photographs.

Smoronk also faces trial this year in a 2014 South Carolina case in which Smoronk and Christina Marie Cuozzo, then 45, of 979 Meaderboro Road, Farmington, were stopped in South Carolina on I-95 after their car pulled into the lane of a Sumter County deputy and almost sideswiped the cruiser in 2014, according to police.

During the stop, a K-9 unit was called and suspected methamphetamine was found in Cuozzo's purse and a large quantity of suspected methamphetamine was found inside a fake energy drink along with a small amount of marijuana, pills and an unknown white powder inside a black computer bag, according to the report. Marie Cuozzo was later identified by law enforcement officials as an alias for the late Christine Sullivan.

In March Sumter County Assistant Prosecutor Scott Matthews said a trafficking of meth conviction could land Smoronk in prison for up to 10 years.