Crime & Safety

2 Men Had Gun, Drugs In Car With Infant: Nassau Police

Police say they were speeding and weaving through traffic with an 8-month-old in the car with them.

Ariel Serrano Ochoa, left, and Kaliem Tharpe are facing drug and weapon charges after police say they found a gun and marijuana in their car during a traffic stop.
Ariel Serrano Ochoa, left, and Kaliem Tharpe are facing drug and weapon charges after police say they found a gun and marijuana in their car during a traffic stop. (Courtesy Nassau County Police Department)

MASSAPEQUA, NY — Two men were arrested on multiple drug and weapon charges in Massapequa Sunday night, Nassau County police said.

According to police, officers saw a black Acura speeding south on Dover Street at 9:45 p.m., while also weaving out of its lane. The officers pulled the car over on Colonial Driver, and during the traffic stop, police say they found a handgun under the drivers seat. The officers also found what they believed to be marijuana in the car, police said.

Ariel Serrano Ochoa, 18, of Hyde Park, Bay Shore, and Kaliem Tharpe, 20, of Colonial Drive, Massapequa, were arrested without incident. Police say Tharpe's 8-month-old daughter was in the back seat of the car during the arrest. The child, who was unharmed, was released to her mother at the scene.

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Ochoa is charged with second- and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, second-degree unlawful possession of marijuana, endangering the welfare of a child, speeding and failure to signal.

Tharpe is charged with second- and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, second-degree unlawful possession of marijuana and endangering the welfare of a child.

Find out what's happening in Massapequafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Both men were arraigned on Monday. Tharpe was ordered held on $25,000 cash bail, which was not posted.

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