Saw Mill Checkpoint Yields DWI, Marijuana and Leandra's Law Arrests

Drivers beware if you travel on the Saw Mill River Parkway as police are stepping up patrols and checkpoints to catch drivers not following the law.

Police arrested six people at a traffic safety checkpoint held Saturday night, June 2.

Six officers total from Dobbs Ferry, Ardsley and Westchester County Police—who brought along their drug-sniffing dog, Sal—stopped cars traveling northbound, from around 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.

The following are the charges made:

• At 11:34 p.m. William Weiner, 47,  of New York City, was arrested and charged with DWI and violation of Leandra's Law, an e-felony, for driving while intoxicated with children in the vehicle. There were three children in the car—two five-year-old boys and a one-year-old boy—and one other adult, a 44-year-old woman police believe is the children's mother. Weiner submitted to a breathalyzer test, which confirmed police's suspicion that he was under the influence. Weiner was released to return to Dobbs Ferry village court. 
• At 1:13 a.m. officers stopped a red pickup truck, immediately smelling a strong odor of marijuana in the vehicle. When the driver was asked if he's been smoking pot, he responded, "Not in a while." Westchester County Police, with the help of Sal, began an investigation for Driving While Ability Impaired By Drugs (DWAID). Ultimately, Kenneth Jackson, 37, of Yonkers was arrested for driving high and driving with a suspended lisence.
• At 1:25 a.m. officers stopped a black Chevy from which they also smelled a strong odor of burning marijuana. The driver, Eddy Tovar, 24, of Yonkers submitted to a search of the car, which uncovered a recently-lit blunt on the passenger's-side floor of the vehicle. Tovar was charged with driving under the influence of drugs and unlawful possession of marijuana. His passenger Albaro Miranda, 24, also from Yonkers was charged with unlawful possession of a gravity knife and unlawful possession of marijuana. 
• At 2:31 a.m Christina Gonzalez, 21, of New City with passenger Jeffrey Thompson, 36, of Yonkers, were stopped at the checkpoint. Once again, police smelled marijuana and noticed a blunt on the front console of the car. Both occupants of the vehicle were searched, and police discovered that Thompson had another plastic bag of what's believed to be marijuana in his left sock. They also found two more bags of pot in the vehicle. Both were charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. 

Note: The following information comes from Dobbs Ferry police records. It does not indicate convictions.