Cops Nab 12 at Smithtown Sobriety Checkpoint

Police pulled 12 ability-impaired drivers off the roads Saturday morning at a sobriety checkpoint set up along Route 25 in Smithtown.

The sting, a joint operation between the Suffolk County Police, New York State Police and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police, stopped drivers of 655 cars between 11 p.m. Friday and 2:30 a.m. Saturday, part of an initiative to crack down on this potentially deadly crime as summer is set to start, according to police.

Ten people were arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor: Matthew McGuirk, 23, of Commack; David Lamanga, 28, of Ronkonkoma; Michael Chwalek, 34, of Nesconset; Jason OConner, 34, of Centereach; Dennis Woll, 31, of Selden; Alberto Perez, 26, of Lake Grove; Steven Trinkle, 23, of Stony Brook; Antonio Delacruz, 38, of Holbrook; Jose Turcios, 36, of Lake Ronkonkoma; and Thomas Carney, 52, of South Setauket.

Two people were also arrested and charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, also a misdemeanor: Matthew Russo, 23, of Mount Sinai, and John Emig, 26, of Islip Terrace.

Police said the drivers would be arraigned at the First District Court in Central Islip on Saturday.