A holiday weekend sobriety enforcement action by the East End DWI task force resulted in the arrest of five people at checkpoints and patrols in the Town of Riverhead overnight.
Officers from Riverhead Police, N.Y. State Police, Southold Police, Shelter Island Police, and Suffolk County Police were deployed in Riverhead last night, according to a Riverhead Town Police press release.
Riverhead Police Department reports making the following arrests:
Sophia Zia, 26, of Great River, charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs;
Ken Raynor, 48, of East Quogue, charged with driving while intoxicated;
Robinson Donaban, 23, of Riverside, charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree;
John Gamble, 33, of Northampton, charged with driving while intoxicated;
Cesar Gonzalez, 26, of Greenport, charged with driving while intoxicated.
Further East End DWI Task Force details will take place throughout the year, police said.
The East End DWI Task Force is a multi-jurisdictional task force, comprised of officers from every East End law enforcement agency, plus county and state police agencies, was established by District Attorney Thomas Spota in 2012 to combat DWI on the East End.
“We want you to come to the East End and enjoy everything it has to offer. Have a good time. But if you drink, drink responsibly, and if you drink, don’t drive,” Spota said at a May 2012 press conference in Riverhead where he announced the creation of the task force.
Officers specially trained to detect the use of drugs by motorists are also members of the special task force. Drugged driving is a growing problem throughout the county, Spota said, as abuse of and addiction to prescription medications has become widespread.
Editor’s note: A criminal charge is an accusation. By law, a person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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