Riverhead Police arrest 4, seize one vehicle during Stop-DWI Labor Day enforcement

Four people were arrested at Riverhead Police Department sobriety checkpoints during its Stop-DWI Labor Day weekend enforcement action, police said in a press release today.

The enforcement action started on Friday, Aug. 28 and continued into Monday, Sept. 1, police said. It included increased patrols and sobriety checkpoints. The checkpoints were held at three different times and locations on Saturday, Aug. 30, beginning at 7 p.m. and ending at 2 a.m. on Sunday. 

The following DWI arrests were made at a checkpoint on Sound Avenue and West Lane on Aug. 30, police said: Philip Tiarks, 30, of St. James, Nalita Lopez, 36, of Farmingville and  Elduin Villaviciencio Orrego, 34, of Riverhead.

The vehicle Tiarks was operating was seized pursuant to Suffolk County law because of his prior DWI conviction in the State of New York, police said. He was not the registered owner of the vehicle, but the law allows police to seize a vehicle if the operator had a prior DWI conviction, regardless of whether the operator owns the vehicle, according to the police.

At a checkpoint on Peconic Avenue near Heidi Behr Way on Aug. 31, Edisson Morocho Morocho,  30, of Hampton Bays, was arrested on a charge of Driving While Intoxicated, police said.

No arrests were made at the third checkpoint, which was located on East Main Street west of Elton Street, police said. No arrests were made during the increased patrol enforcement over the weekend, according to the report.

The four people arrested were processed at Riverhead Police Department headquarters and held for morning arraignment, police said in the press release.

Editor’s note: A criminal charge is an accusation. A person charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.