Police: Man Driving High on Drugs Arrested in N. Merrick

An Atlantic Beach man driving erratically on the Southern State Parkway in North Merrick was arrested last Friday afternoon for being under the influence and in possession of drugs, State Police said.

A state trooper stopped a black Chevrolet Impala operated by Robert Kozak, 33, after observing the vehicle driving out of the traffic lanes and onto the shoulder on the eastbound side of the Southern State near the Meadowbrook Road exit around 1 p.m., police said.

The trooper detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from the Chevy and Kozak had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and could not maintain his balance, police said. 

A search of the car yielded four white pills identified as clonazepam, an anti-seizure medication, one white pill and two pill fragments identified as alprazolam, an anti-anxiety drug commonly known as Xanax, and one white broken pill found to be methadone, police said.

Kozak failed sobriety tests at the scene and was arrested, police said.

Kozak is charged with a felony count of driving while ability impaired by drugs, three counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance and three counts of possession of prescription medications in non-original countainers.

Kozak was arraigned on Saturday in First District Court in Hempstead and released on $2,500 cash bail.  He is due back in court on Friday.