Deer Park man who fled police had 40 driver's license suspensions, Suffolk police say
A Deer Park man who was arrested after he fled a late-night traffic stop has had his driver's license suspended 40 times, Suffolk County police said.
Police said Jemel M. Edwards, 35, was arrested at 12:02 a.m. Thursday by Fifth Precinct officers who spotted his car parked in Bayport.
Edwards was charged with third-degree unlawful fleeing of a police officer, second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, operating a vehicle without an interlock device and eight additional vehicle and traffic violations.
The car was impounded at the scene.
Edwards faces arraignment at a later date.
It was not immediately clear if he was represented by an attorney.
Police said a patrol officer first pulled over Edwards after he was spotted speeding in a 2000 Nissan Altima on the eastbound Sunrise Highway service road at Broadway Avenue in Bayport at 10:55 p.m. Wednesday. As the officer exited his patrol unit, police said Edwards "sped away," heading southbound on Nicolls Road. The officer did not pursue the car, but instead radioed information to dispatch, police said.
About an hour later, police said the Fifth Precinct officers — responding to a 911 call for a man seen climbing into the window of a home on Terrace Road in Bayport — spotted the parked Nissan and confirmed the plate was that of the wanted car and driver.
Police said the home turned out "to be the house of an acquaintance" of Edwards.
Upon questioning, the officers learned Edwards had 40 suspensions and no valid license and made the arrest, police said.
It was not immediately clear if Edwards owns the Nissan or if the car was borrowed, and it was also not immediately clear why he was charged with operating a vehicle without an interlock device.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
