Driver in Island Park arrested on weapon, drug charges, cops say

The driver of a car that police said ran a stop sign Wednesday evening in Island Park ended up under arrest — after officers said they found a handgun, heroin and cocaine.

Robert E. Dandrea, 38, of Fanwood Place, Huntington Station, was arrested following a traffic stop on Quebec Road at 6:50 p.m. and charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, four counts of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and vehicle and traffic law violations, police said.

Nassau County police said officers on patrol spotted Dandrea, driving a black Toyota, run a stop sign on southbound Quebec Road at Lancaster Road and conducted a traffic stop. During that stop, police said, officers found Dandrea in possession of “several glassine envelopes” containing heroin, a container of cocaine and a loaded .45-caliber Taurus semi-automatic pistol.

Police said that following his arrest Dandrea was transported to a local hospital for treatment of an undisclosed illness and said he will face arraignment in First District Court in Hempstead as soon as that is medically practicable.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

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.”