Cops: Driver on phone hit with drug charges

A West Hempstead man was arrested and charged with drug violations Monday after a State Police trooper stopped him for allegedly talking on his cellphone while driving on the Southern State Parkway in Valley Stream.

Jeremy Levine, 23, was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana, as well as with having a controlled substance that was not in its original container and traffic violations, police said. He's due in Nassau First District Court on April 23.

Police said Levine was driving his gray Toyota Corolla when a trooper saw him swerve out of his lane several times while talking on a cellphone. The traffic stop took place at 3:25 p.m. near the Fletcher Avenue exit on the eastbound Southern State, police said.

Police said the trooper "detected a strong odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle." A subsequent search of the vehicle yielded 4 grams of marijuana in a bag, as well as marijuana paraphernalia and three hydrocodone pills.

In an unrelated stop earlier Monday, State Police said a 55-year-old Rockville Centre man was arrested and charged with first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and traffic violations after an investigation revealed he had 30 license suspensions.

James Merriweather was arrested after a trooper stopped his black Mitsubishi Galant on eastbound Hempstead Turnpike for not having working stop lights, police said. That traffic stop occurred at 10:15 a.m. just west of the Meadowbrook State Parkway.

Merriweather was being held for arraignment at First District Court, Hempstead.