Cops: Elmont man charged with selling drugs upstate

An Elmont man on parole for drug convictions has been arraigned on felony drug charges for selling cocaine in Carmel, according to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.

David Thiong, 22, of Sterling Road was charged March 29 on four counts each of criminal sale and possession of a controlled substance, said the narcotics unit of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.

Thiong had been selling "street-level quantities of narcotics at numerous commercial parking areas within the town of Carmel" since September, according to a sheriff's report.

After identifying Thiong as the suspected drug dealer, an undercover agent was able to purchase cocaine from him several times, police said.

Carmel is about 50 miles north of New York City, just west of the Connecticut border.

At the time of his arrest, Thiong also had cocaine and OxyContin "packaged for sale," police said.

Thiong was arraigned before Carmel Town Justice Joseph Spofford and remanded to the Putnam County Correctional Facility without bail. He is due in Town Court on May 3.

Police said Thiong is on lifetime parole because of previous felony drug convictions. He was placed on lifetime parole after being sentenced in 2001 to a jail term of eight years to life, police said.

The state Division of Parole has lodged a parole detainer against Thiong, indicating it is "seeking additional sanctions," police said.