Driver Found Sleeping In Car Parked On I-95 On Father's Day Had 437 Grams Of Coke: NYSP

MAMARONECK, NY — A Sunday evening drive went very wrong this past Father's Day.

On Sunday, New York State Police assigned to SP New Rochelle arrested 43-year-old Miguel Perez Mendez, of the Bronx, on felony drug possession and DWI charges after he was found asleep in a vehicle along the New England Thruway, in Westchester County.

Around 7:15 p.m., troopers saw a vehicle parked on the right shoulder of I-95 northbound, in the village of Mamaroneck, with the driver and only occupant, asleep in the driver's seat. During a welfare check of Perez Mendez, troopers administered standardized field sobriety tests, which were indicative of intoxication, according to NYSP. He was placed under arrest for DWI.

During an inventory of the vehicle, troopers seized around 436.8 grams of cocaine, according to state police.

Perez Mendez was taken to SP New Rochelle for processing, where he refused to provide a breath sample, and an additional approximately 0.3 grams of cocaine was located.

He was charged with first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance; third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell; seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance; driving while intoxicated, first offense; and aggravated unlicensed operation.

Perez Mendez was arraigned in the Mamaroneck Village Court and released on his own recognizance pending a future court date.