Sheriff: Carmel Driver Found with Heroin

Putnam County Sheriff Donald B. Smith reports the arrest of a Carmel man on a charge of drug possession.

At 1:29 a.m., March 3, Deputy Sheriff Jonathan Irwin stopped a motorist who had committed traffic violations on Agor Lane in Mahopac.

An investigation revealed that the driver, identified as Eric Lopata, 23, of 81 Alona Drive, Carmel was in possession of heroin, police said.

The deputy arrested Lopata and charged him with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree, a misdemeanor.

He was processed at the Putnam County Correctional Facility and released after posting $250 cash bail pending a future appearance in the Town of Carmel Justice Court. If found guilty of the misdemeanor charge, Lopata could face up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.