🌱 Drug-Laced Candy Bust + Sentence For Killing Girlfriend

Happy Saturday, Merrick! Here's everything you need to know today in Merrick.

A Nassau man was sentenced for killing his 19-year-old girlfriend. A man in Wantagh was arrested for having a stash of drug-laced candy. And the teenager who died during basketball tryouts had received a clean bill of health this year.

First, today's weather:

Partly sunny. High: 46 Low: 44.

Here are the top stories today in Merrick:

1. A Freeport man won a cool $5 million playing lotto. Jose Almazan purchased the ticket at the Lucky 7 Food Market on North Main Street in his hometown, Freeport. (Daily Voice)
2. Alex Costello tells us that a Hempstead man was sentenced today to 20 years to life in prison for murdering his girlfriend last March. Sixto Tapia-Angeles, 28, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He slit the throat of 19-year-old Maria Rodriguez-Perez. (Patch)
3. A 85-year-old man died on Thursday when his car drove into the water at the Theodore Roosevelt Marina in Oyster Bay. His name was not released. (Daily Voice)
4. Fox 5 reports that a Wantagh man was busted for having 28 mushroom-laced candy bars, 26 pounds of marijuana and 1,000 cartridges of THC in his home. Police arrested Anthony Salina, 38, on Wednesday night after Salina allegedly threatened his wife with a shotgun. (FOX 5 NY)
5. ABC News has details on the 15-year-old high school sophomore who collapsed and died during Copiague High School basketball tryouts. Carmyne Paschall Payton was in good physical health before this incident. (WABC-TV)

Today in Merrick:

• Garage Sale, Merrick, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Merrick Patch Notebook

• Kiwanis Club of Merrick needs help stocking their Community Cupboard. Drop off items today at Stop & Shop and Foodtown. (Facebook)

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That's it for today. See you all tomorrow morning for another update! If you're loving these newsletters, consider inviting some of your friends and neighbors to follow along. You can send them this link to subscribe.

— Jackie

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Merrick Daily? Email me at Merrick@Patch.com.