7 Nabbed In DWI Enforcement Over Christmas Week: Suffolk Sheriff

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — Seven people were arrested by deputy sheriffs for driving while intoxicated over the Christmas weekend, Suffolk Sheriff Errol Toulon said.

Deputies working in the Driving While Intoxicated Enforcement Team saw a 28-year-old Brentwood man's vehicle swerving over the roadway lines on the Long Island Expressway, near exit 57, in Islandia, while traveling at around 105 MPH in a 55-mile-per-hour zone, Toulon said.

Standardized field sobriety tests indicated that he was intoxicated and he was charged and taken to the Sheriff's office's Headquarters Bureau in Riverhead, where he submitted to a chemical breath test resulting in a .18% Blood Alcohol Level, according to Toulon.

He was charged with aggravated DWI due to the high BAC and other violations of the vehicle and traffic laws, Toulon said.

On Christmas Eve, a 34-year-old Patchogue woman failed to signal a right turn out of the King Kullen parking lot onto Waverly Ave in Patchogue, and she tested a .21% BAC, resulting in her being charged with aggravated DWI, according to Toulon.

Other arrests included:

• A 57-year-old man from Holbrook in Patchogue for DWI with a BAC of .17%.
• A 52-year-old man from Shirley in Shirley for DWI with a BAC of .17%.
• A 47-year-old man from Riverhead in Holbrook for DWI with a BAC of .08%.
• A 33-year-old man from Central Islip in Patchogue for DWI after refusing to give a breath sample.
• A 23-year-old man from Columbia, Maryland in Holbrook for third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation and a First District Court warrant.

A 34-year-old Riverhead man was also arrested in Southampton on Dec. 22, when he was found to be intoxicated after driving up to a sobriety checkpoint, Toulon said.

Juan Ochoa's breath test came in at .11 BAC and he was found to have three previous DWI convictions in 2011, 2020, and 2022, according to Toulon. He was also driving without an ignition interlock device physically installed or present in the vehicle as per the restriction set forth on his driver’s license, Toulon said.

He was charged with felony DWI due to his three prior DWI convictions, circumventing a court-ordered interlock device, driving with a suspended license, and other vehicle and traffic law violations, according to Toulon.

Toulon said his deputies are patrolling the county’s roadways looking for impaired drivers, Toulon said.

"These impaired individuals were a danger to themselves and others, and I thank my deputies for removing them from the driver’s seat before they caused a holiday tragedy," he said. "Deputies will continue to be on the lookout for impaired drivers through the New Year’s Eve weekend, so plan ahead, before you spend the New Year in the Suffolk County Jail.”