Man Drove Drunk Into Correctional Facility Lot With Gun: Sheriff

RIVERHEAD, NY — A man who was driving while intoxicated was arrested after he tried enter the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Riverhead Friday night while in possession of "ghost gun," authorities said.

According to the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office, Daniel Apolinario, 24, of Bay Shore, entered the facility's parking lot Friday night at 10:44 p.m. through the employees' entrance; he then turned around and tried to exit the jail grounds the wrong way through the visiting entrance, authorities said.

The deputy sheriff working the security booth at the entrance stopped the vehicle and interviewed Apolinario; he failed a field sobriety test and was found to be intoxicated, Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon's office said.

In addition, a loaded handgun with no serial number, known as a “ghost gun,” was found beneath the driver’s seat of the vehicle, Toulon's office said. Apolinario refused to give a statement about the firearm and refused to consent to a breath test, authorities said.

The vehicle was impounded and the firearm was collected as evidence and sent to the crime lab for analysis, Toulon's office said.

Apolinario was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, criminal possession of a firearm, second-and-fourth-degree criminal possession of weapon, first-and-second degree promoting prison contraband, and multiple traffic infractions, Toulon's office said. His DWI charge was upgraded to a felony due to a prior DWI conviction in 2017, Toulon's office said.

“Getting this untraceable 'ghost gun' off the street will undoubtedly save a life in the future,” said Toulon. “The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office is dedicated to improving the safety and security of all of Suffolk’s residents, and an arrest like this goes a long way to achieving this goal. We may never know the unthinkable crimes that may have been prevented by getting this person and this gun off the street.”