Crime & Safety

Police: Man Drove on Parkway While on Drugs

Northport man also had illegal drugs and a weapon in his vehicle on the Northern State, police said.

A Northport man was arrested Friday afternoon after police discovered him allegedly driving on the Northern State Parkway while under the influence of drugs.

According to New York State police, Nicholas P. Stratienco, 24, of Northport, was stopped by a trooper near the Commack Road exit (Exit 43) for towing a trailer on the parkway. 

Police determined Stratienco to be under the influence of drugs. They also found a billy club, an unspecified amount of marijuana and a prescription medication for which he held no prescription, police said.

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Stratienco's driver's license has been suspended more than ten times on ten separate occasions for various traffic offenses, police said.

State Police charged Stratienco with criminal posession of a weapon, driving while ability impaired by drugs, criminal possession of a controlled substance, and aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle. He faces arraignment Saturday at Suffolk County First District Court.

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